


Better Off Dead

by InAWorldOfMyOwn



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Multi, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 20:10:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1954665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InAWorldOfMyOwn/pseuds/InAWorldOfMyOwn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of all the things I thought I would do with my life, hunting monsters was about as far from the list as riding a unicorn. There was a defining moment in which the lines between reality and fiction began to blur. The gravity of it takes time to sink in. It's one thing no one takes time to consider. When you realize you can't go home, the façade begins to crumble. DeanXOC CastielXOC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Pick apart… the pieces of your heart… Let me peer… inside…"

I swayed in front of the stove, singing along quietly to the music pulsing through the empty house. Donegal wouldn't be back until well after midnight, so I had the place to myself. We were house sitting for an old family friend in Golden, Colorado. The house was much bigger than I remembered. And oh was it gorgeous. The only downfall being that it was more or less in the middle of nowhere. Technically we were about a twenty-minute drive to town, settled out amongst the wild forest. It was completely isolated – no neighbors for miles, I guessed. Thus why I'd been playing music pretty much since she left the house.

I was feeling restless and my stomach was rumbling, so I found myself in the well-stocked kitchen cooking incessantly [a nervous habit of mine]. I couldn't stop. I just needed to keep myself busy. Marinated salmon was cooking in the oven while potatoes, mixed veggies, and macaroni and cheese boiled away on the stovetop. The rice cooker was going and I put lids on everything, pushing my bangs out of my face. The kitchen was massive, like all the other rooms in the house, and very well equipped. The countertops were dark granite and the cupboards were all made of a light, honey colored wood to match the floors. There was a breakfast nook between the kitchen and the living room, which I was currently perched on top of.

I muttered along to the new song coming on, kicking my feet and reading the back of a box of cake mix. The music boomed on around me. It was in rare moments like these that I really appreciated knowing someone with this kind of money. I wished I were staying here longer than a few weeks. I felt fancy just staying in a place like this. I laughed to myself and glanced across the room. The wall between the kitchen and balcony was more or less a giant window. It was a little unnerving not being able to see into the darkness that lie beyond, but I couldn't bring myself to shut them. It's not like the neighbors would be creeping in on us anyway.

I suppose in a way that was kind of what made me nervous. The isolation, that is. If anything bad happened, it would take ages for anyone to find us here. I shook those thoughts from my head and returned to the stove to stir everything. I watched too many horror movies. Using one of the spoons as a microphone, I spun around and started singing. I was feeling pretty peppy tonight. The sliding doors were open, nothing but the screen between me and the cool night outside. I pushed the long sleeves of the oversized t-shirt I was wearing up to my elbows, wiggling my hips and power sliding across the floor at all the good parts. I turned down the burners and slipped out onto the patio to smoke a cigarette.

I belted out the chorus, jamming my little heart out, making sure to "thank the forest" when I was through. I laughed to myself and lit the cigarette poised between my lips. I inhaled deeply and looked up at the moon shining brightly through the treetops. The forest was alive with the sounds of night critters chirping and hooting and croaking. It was peaceful. I searched the trees for any sign of things that might not belong, but everything seemed normal. I put my cigarette in a tin can by the door when I was finished and shut the screen door behind me. I drained the pasta and had sung and danced my way through another three songs by the time all the food was done. I sat on one of the barstools at the nook to eat, still humming to myself. I looked out past the balcony again. I couldn't see anything but black. I couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was off. The little hairs on the back of my neck were prickling. I took my plate with me to the screen door. I could tell immediately that something had changed. I grabbed the remote for the stereo off the counter and turned it down a little. I returned to the door and strained my ears. I wasn't sure what I was listening for until I realized exactly what it was. The forest was silent. There were no more birds, no crickets, nothing. I blanched and took a step back, quickly shutting and locking the door. I hurried back to my seat at the nook, heart racing. I picked nervously at my plate without really eating much else. The fear that had jolted through my body had made my stomach twist and knot. I couldn't imagine why everything had gone quiet like that, but it couldn't be good.

* * *

"Are you sure we're at the right house?"

Sam looked over at his brother lounging in the driver's seat beside him. He was squinting out the window, disinterested but attentive.

"Positive," he replied. "He's been scoping out this house for days. Tonight the full moon is at its peak in the cycle. Trust me, he'll be here."

Dean sighed heavily looked back out his window to the house they were casing. The girl inside was back at the balcony door, looking out into the night. She was tall, though still shorter than him probably. Her short hair stuck out in unruly tufts, though she had to keep brushing her bangs back out her eyes. They were hidden from sight where they were now. He wondered if it was them watching her that was putting her on edge. Some music he didn't recognize was blasting from the inside the house, even after she had turned the volume down considerably.

"At least her taste isn't  _complete_  crap," he muttered sourly, stretching as best as he could in the confines of the car.

Sam smiled and shook his head, looking over the file in his lap. It was a little strange that they'd been camped out for almost four hours now and not seen anything - or heard anything, for that matter - that was out of the ordinary. He sighed and flipped it closed, rubbing his eyes. He was starting to second guess himself. After a few minutes, he looked up and frowned.

"You hear that?" Sam asked, looking over at his brother.

"Hear what?" Dean grumbled, head leaned back, eyes closed.

"Exactly. I don't hear a thing. Everything's gone quiet…"

Dean sat up, looking more alert. His eyes scanned the dark forest around them. He didn't see any signs of movement, but something had definitely changed in the atmosphere. When a long howl broke the silence, they looked at each other and quickly scrambled out of the car to make a mad dash for the house.

* * *

My eyes widened and I dropped my fork with a clatter. I knew I wasn't hearing things, but the howl that ripped through the night seemed unreal. I could hear it loud and clear over the music still playing. I jumped to my feet, looking around wildly. Were even there wolves out here in the first place? I didn't think so, but my ears weren't deceiving me. I was breathing hard, my heart beating frantically against my ribcage. The living room didn't have windows. There was only the wall of glass in the kitchen. When my eyes fell upon the small gun case on the wall, I didn't hesitate. I grabbed one of the shotguns and a case of shells. I turned off the music and tucked the remote into my pocket. I pressed myself against the wall beside the nook, giving myself a view of both the front door and the balcony. My breathing was coming out in short, gasping bursts. I loaded the gun in my shaking hands. Expecting the worst, I pulled the lighter out of my pocket. I quickly ran around the room lighting candles. That was how this usually worked in horror movies, right? As if on cue, the lights flickered with an electric buzz and went out. I leaned back into my niche, trying to breathe more quietly. If I was losing my mind, so be it. I was perfectly content to sit there clutching that gun all night long. There was a loud thud somewhere above me followed by vigorous scratching. Something was on the roof. I heard glass shatter and flinched. Oh God, it was in the house.

I tightened my grip on the rifle in my hands. Footsteps slowly walked across the room on the second floor. I kept my eyes on the hallway by the staircase. When I heard the stairs creaking, a low growl followed. I swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to steady myself. I raised the gun and pointed it at the door. When a figure came into sight, I wasn't quite as prepared as I had hoped. More so, I was incredibly confused by what it was that I was seeing. Granted I couldn't see very well in the dim lighting, but judging by the shape it looked… human. It was hunched over, arms hanging by its sides; sneaking almost. A flicker of candlelight caught its eyes. They reflected yellow and green like a cat's, glinting maliciously. Is that what was really making all those sounds? I inhaled sharply and made sure the gun was ready to fire.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly.

The only response I got was another bone chilling growl. I hesitated for a moment before firing. I missed, wood splintering off the doorframe behind it. It snarled viciously and came toward me. I fired again, catching it in the shoulder. I was a bit surprised, but I guess those trips to the gun range really did pay off. It only seemed to piss it off. I scrambled for more shells. The sound of the front door kicking in made me jump. The shells cascaded to the floor and scattered. I swore to myself and looked up. It was right in front of me. I could see the fangs, the claws. It still looked relatively human aside from that. It drew its arm back to slash at me. I pulled the trigger, but I could tell it wasn't my shot that had the real effect. Three more rounds after mine rang out and the creature let out a yelping whine before it hit the ground. I was still breathing in short bursts, gasps as the fear and adrenaline seeped into my veins. I looked down at it with wide eyes, at the blood pooling on the floor. I could feel it in splattered droplets across my face and body. I let out a strangled cry and covered my face with my left hand. This couldn't be real. I must have fallen asleep. This had to be a dream. I heard footsteps and looked up sharply. A tall figure was cautiously walking down the hallway toward me. I couldn't think. Leaning against the wall, I pushed myself to my feet. I raised my gun, despite the fact that I was shaking too hard to hold it steady.

"Get out," I croaked. "Get out!"

He raised his hands submissively at the frantic tone in my voice, putting the gun in his hand on the floor before proceeding.

"It's all right. We aren't here to hurt you," he said calmly.

Why did that voice sound so familiar? I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I couldn't stop glancing down at the body on the floor.

"W-Who are you?" I stammered, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. I looked back at him. "Who are you?"

The lights sizzled and came back on. I blinked hard, the bright light stinging my eyes. Someone else came through the door.

"I got the lights back on," another man said, his voice deeper than the first. "Everything okay in here?"

I frowned and squinted. I couldn't possibly be seeing things right. Yes, I was definitely dreaming. Granted it was extremely lucid, but that was the only explanation that made sense. I was beyond a doubt looking at Sam and Dean Winchester. Unless this was someone's idea of some kind of cruel joke, I was most definitely dreaming. I let out a shaky laugh and slid to the floor. The two of them glanced at each other like they thought I was mad. Maybe I was.

"Just put the gun down," Sam said calmly. "Relax. Let's talk this out okay?"

My sides cramped I was laughing so hard. My eyes were starting to water. I let the gun fall to the floor to hold my aching ribs. They exchanged looks, which I chose to ignore, and gave myself several long minutes to get it out of my system. Finally I pushed myself back to my feet, wiping my eyes.

"Oh, God… I had myself going for a minute there," I muttered, pushing up my sleeves. "You're dreaming, that's all. Just ride it out and everything will be fine. You've had stranger dreams than this, right?"

"Dreaming?" Dean said incredulously, letting out a low chuckle. "Yeah, you'll be wishing that a few days from now…"

I scrutinized them as I edged around the breakfast nook and into the kitchen.

"That's the only logical explanation for this," I replied, setting about putting away the leftovers. "I'm gonna wake up in the morning feeling very silly about giving myself a heart attack and you two will be long gone."

"Well you're right about one thing. We will be long gone. You, on the other hand, will still have a dead werewolf on your living room floor." He gave me a wry smile and crossed his arms.

"Dean," Sam said in warning, looking at him over his shoulder.

He glared back and shrugged. "What? She doesn't think it's real anyway."

I turned to face them, deadpanning. "I'm sorry, you said "werewolf"?"

Sam threw him a "nice going" look. I eyed him a moment longer before hesitantly hopping onto the counter. I peered over the edge. Now that I could see it clearly it wasn't nearly as intimidating, though it was still disturbing. The fingernails were long, curving into dangerous claws. Fangs peeked out from behind the man's pale, blood coated lips. I swallowed hard. If I were dreaming about a werewolf, I certainly wouldn't have made it look like this. I would've gone for the whole big, hairy beast thing. I should know, I'd dreamt of them before. I glanced over at the two men standing in the doorway. They looked real enough. I climbed down and went to stand in front of Sam. I narrowed my eyes as I looked up at him. They were both dressed casually; usual attire for them on the show. I moved to Dean, walking in a circle around him before stopping to look him in the face. He glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eyes. I raised my hand, hesitating a moment. I shrugged to myself mentally and poked him hard in the chest. He made a noise of indignation and took a step back.

"What the hell?" he asked.

I just tilted my head to the side. He felt solid, but dreams could easily feel real. I grabbed Sam's hand, turning it over in mine. He let me do so without pulling away. I let him go and shook my head, wandering my way back to the counter. I reached up to drag my hands down my face.

"This isn't real," I muttered under my breath. I spun around to look back at them, desperation in my eyes. "A-Am I being Punk'd or something? Because I have anxiety issues and you can't pull practical jokes like this on someone with problems like mine!" I started pacing, taking deep breaths trying to calm myself as I ran my fingers through my hair. I pointed an accusing finger at them. "Did my sister put you guys up to this? Where are the cameras? How much is she paying you to do this? WHERE IS SHE? WHY HASN'T THAT GUY GOTTEN UP YET?!"

Dean put his hands up and looked at Sam. "I'm... gonna let you take this bag of crazy."

"Don't fucking call me crazy! Who are you really? Why the fuck are you in my house?"

"It's okay, we're on the same side," Sam said quickly, taking a step back to give me some space. "I'm Sam. This is my brother Dean. We came here tonight to.. well... to take care of that guy."

He gestured to the dead man on the living room floor. I leaned on the counter and looked down at my hands. I hadn't really noticed the blood on them until then. I was starting to shake again. I rubbed them together, trying to wipe it away. I pulled my shirt away from my body. It was still heavily coated with blood splatters. I was starting to panic. I shook my head again, taking a step back from the counter. I tripped over the body on the floor and slid on the blood, almost busting my ass. It finally started to sink in when I shifted my gaze to the grizzly scene one last time. Sam and Dean Winchester were actually standing here in the living room of this house and I was really covered in some poor schmuck's blood. I was starting to hyperventilate. I cringed and my stomach lurched.

"Oh God," I said quietly. "Oh God… I'm gonna be sick. Ew, ew, ew. Fuck. I need a shower."

I peeled off my shirt, struggling with the sleeves. I grumbled in frustration and flailed my arms, throwing it on the floor. It didn't do much good. I could still feel it all over my face and where it had seeped through the fabric onto my skin. I kicked off my slippers and held my hands away from myself as I practically ran past them. I stopped at the stairs and glared at them around the corner.

"Don't you two even  _think_  of leaving until you fix that fucking door," I snapped. "This isn't my house. Oh God, how am I going to explain this…"

I ran up the stairs to the bathroom, shimmying out of the rest of my clothes. I turned on the water and let my hair down before scrambling in. The hot water felt good on my skin. It burned a little hotter than I usually liked, but I'd stand anything to get the feel of that blood off me. When I was satisfied, I shut the water off and wrapped myself in a towel. I made a beeline for my room and dug out a gray racer back tank top, a pair of dark wash tattered denim shorts, and the necessities out of my suitcase. Fully dressed and converse tied, I paused in the hallway to collect myself. There had to be some way to explain what was happening. I just wasn't ready to accept the idea that this was actually happening.


	2. Chapter 2

I took a deep breath and jogged down the stairs, shaking the excess water from my hair. The two brothers were quietly arguing amongst themselves as they tried to figure out how to fix the broken doorframe. Thank goodness the door was in one piece at least. I watched in amusement for a moment before I cleared my throat. They looked back at me. Sam blushed an averted his gaze. I guess running past them in shorts and a bra wasn't the best idea. I smiled faintly.

"There's um… There's a power drill and some screws in the pantry," I said. "Give me a sec, I'll go grab it."

I flitted past them into the kitchen, skillfully avoiding looking at the body and the blood. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. I was getting a migraine. I hurried back to the front door. Sam was busy trying to fit the frame back together. I held it out to him and he quietly thanked me. He still wouldn't look me in the eye. I chuckled and leaned against the banister.

"So," I started off slowly. "How'd you figure uh…" I pointed over my shoulder. "…tall, dark and creepy was gonna be here tonight?"

Dean moved to hold the frame while Sam put a few new screws in. "We've been tracking him for a while," he answered. "And as luck would have it, he's been tracking you."

I blanched and stood up straight. "You're kidding me. I've literally been here three days."

"Three days is all it takes. Especially when the lunar cycle is close to peaking; tonight being the big night, of course."

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to let the disturbed expression I could feel on my face slip away. I shuddered and returned to leaning against the banister.

"Is he the only one in the area?" I continued.

Dean glanced at me over his shoulder. "As far as we can tell."

I nodded and scoffed quietly, running my fingers through my hair again. I bit the end of my thumb as I watched them work, lost in thought. This was beyond weird. I couldn't begin to imagine how I was going to explain this to my sister when she got home. It still kind of felt like I was in some strange state of in between sleep and wake. It didn't feel real. I allowed my eyes to drift upward from Dean's boots to gauge the way he was standing - bowlegged, as usual, as he stretched his arms over his head to push a piece of the frame back into place. They looked like they had just walked right off the set and into my front room. It was disturbing in ways that I didn't even want to explore. I looked over at Sam, watching the pinched, focused expression on his face while he worked. This wasn't Jared and Jensen; this was very clearly Sam and Dean. The revelation sent a shiver down my spine. Why were they doing this was beyond me. A part of me was still hoping that a group of camera men would jump out laughing, telling me how good they got me. I blinked my thoughts away and looked back to the floor before they caught me staring. When they were finished, Sam shut and locked the door to make sure it worked.

"Thank you," I muttered, trying to avoid eye contact. I suddenly felt clammy and nervous. Good to know I was back to my old self. "I really didn't feel like doing that. Um… By the way… corpse on my living room floor? What are we supposed to do with it? I mean, is there anything special you have to do to a werewolf once it's dead? You know, salt it, burn it, any of that shit?"

They shared a look before looking at me with raised eyebrows. I made a face and rubbed my arm self-consciously.

"What? Don't look at me like that. I'm not a complete idiot, thank you. Just answer the question. I'd really like to have…  _that_ … taken care of before my sister gets home. She'll flip shit and I don't feel like explaining the situation to her right away."

Sam shook his head, seemingly attempting to clear his thoughts.

"Uh… No, nothing in particular," he ventured, rubbing the back of his neck. "You'll probably want to just call the police and let them take care of this."

I laughed. "You're joking, right? And how exactly to I explain the dude with fangs and claws? I just got here. I'm  _not_  gonna have the whole town thinking I'm insane." I sighed and tapped the end of my nose as I looked around. My face lit up and I looked back at them. "I've got a better idea. There's a shed out back. Linda is big on gardening. She's got at least two shovels and a shitload of other tools. I'll grab a sheet. There are flashlights in the pantry off the kitchen."

I hurried back up the stairs to grab the dingiest sheet I could find in the linen closet without giving them a chance to object. By the time I got back downstairs they had a couple of flashlights and towels on the counter. I snapped it unfolded and laid it out on a clean section of the floor. I was careful to avoid stepping in the blood on the floor. I grimaced and grabbed an arm, turning the body onto its back. I looked up at the two of them watching.

"Are you just gonna stand there all night looking pretty or help me move this thing?" I teased. They fumbled over themselves for a moment, hurrying to come help.

"Here, I got it," Sam muttered, gesturing to the arm in my hand.

I nodded and handed it over with relief. They hefted up the body and walked it over to the sheet. Blood in the early stages of coagulation made little stringy trails after it. I cringed and grabbed one of the towels off the counter.

"One of you grab me the bleach from under the sink, will you?" I said over my shoulder. "Ugh… Some rubber gloves too, if you wouldn't mind. No, no, no, leave him unrolled. I'm gonna put these towels in there too."

Dean shrugged and grabbed another towel off the counter to help. I wiggled my hands into a pair of gloves and got to mopping. Once the towel was dripping red, I tossed it onto the body with a sloppy sort of flop. I shook my head for the hundredth time and got the bucket of water and bleach Sam had brought. I dipped a clean towel in and rung it out over the bloody smears leftover before scrubbing it away. Once we were done, Dean folded the sheet over and rolled the body a couple of times. I tried to see the humor in a human/blanket burrito to stay calm, but the new blood on the floor that seeped through the sheet made my stomach sick again. I let out a shaky breath and grabbed some paper towels to finish cleaning up the mess. I opened the front door for them and they carried the body out. I jogged back ahead of them, shining one flashlight ahead of me to light my path and one behind me to light theirs. I led them to the shed to grab the two shovels inside. I tossed one to Dean after he set the body down several yards away. He pulled a face and I smiled to myself. I took a firm hold of the shovel in my hands and started digging. It took longer than I thought it would to dig a shallow grave. Fucking show always made it seem so easy... Dean and Sam rolled the body in and I started the rigorous task of burying it. When we were finally done, I put the shovels up and turned to face them.

"Well," I said slowly, dusting myself off, "now that we've bonded over burying a dead body, I think a proper introduction is in order. My name is Connemara."

Confusion flashed across their faces. Dean made a face of disbelief.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked.

I smiled tensely. "Connemara. Conn-eh-marr-uh. Memorize it."

"Right…"

I pointed at him. "Dean?" He nodded. I looked at his brother. "And Sam?" He smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you… though not necessarily under the circumstances… Anyway, you two can stay the night here. The place is huge, there are plenty of beds, and the owner isn't coming back any time soon. Plus I cooked."

They looked at each other and Sam said, "I-I don't know. We can just get a hotel room back in town…"

"Did I mention there's a theater in the basement?"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "A theater? Like a theater, theater?"

"Seats, screen, even a popcorn machine. You can hook it up to watch movies, TV, whatever you want."

He looked over at Sam. "I mean… It wouldn't hurt to stay one night…"

I smiled. "Great. Back inside then. It's gettin' kinda creepy out here with a freshly dug grave and all."

I led the way back inside, heading straight for the kitchen. Most of the food was still in pans on the stovetop.

"What are you in the mood for?" I asked over my shoulder. "I've got steak, macaroni and cheese, salmon, mashed potatoes, rice, and mixed veggies. Help yourselves, there's plenty."

I pulled down a couple of plates and handed them each one. I hopped up on the counter, sipping a glass of chocolate milk. They took a seat at the breakfast niche and I watched them with innocent curiosity. After a few long minutes of silence, Dean looked up at me.

"So, uh… How'd you know about the salt?" he asked casually.

I sucked milk down the wrong tube and coughed hard, thumping myself in the chest. I looked back at him and cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You asked about salting and burning the bones," he continued. "How did you know about that?"

I smiled nervously and drained the glass, hopping off the counter. "I know a lot of things, thank you. I'm a girl, not stupid."

He shrugged. "I didn't mean anything by it. Just curious."

"Do you… have experience with this sort of thing?" Sam asked cautiously.

I put my glass in the sink and rinsed it out. "You could say that." I sighed. "Well, I'll go make sure the guest rooms are ready. Dishes go in the sink when you're done. Rinse them off if you don't mind. I'll be right back."

I left them to finish their dinner, flipping on the light as I headed down the basement steps. After the events of the evening, being alone in the basement [however well lit and fully furnished it may be] was giving me the creeps. Both rooms downstairs were already made up thankfully. I just fluffed the pillows a bit and headed back upstairs. They were both finished already and waiting in the living room.

I forced a smile and said, "Well, your beds are made and everything is good to go. Take your pick, you don't have to share. Right down the stairs is the game room. Bathroom and one of the guest rooms are the two doors on the left. Second room is down the hall by the stairs – end of the hall is the theater. Make yourselves comfortable. My room is the second door on the right on the second floor. Just knock if you need anything. I'll probably be up for a while." I shut off all the lights but the one in the hallway. I left it on for Donegal. "I guess I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," they chimed in unison.

I headed up to my room yawning. I changed into a pair of plaid boxers and a long t-shirt. I put in my headphones and crawled into bed, welcoming sleep to my weary body.

* * *

I woke with a jolt early in the morning. I groaned and looked over at the alarm clock. 2:43 burned into my eyes. I sighed and threw off the covers. I could feel that I wouldn't be sleeping again for a while, so I dragged myself down the stairs and to the kitchen. I rubbed my eyes sleepily. What an extravagant dream that had been; very realistic, too. I grabbed a glass and filled it with water before sticking it in the microwave. I dug through the pantry for a packet of hot chocolate. I caught the microwave before it beeped, carefully retrieving the steaming mug. I stirred in the mix, counting the marshmallows while I hummed "Wicked Games" under my breath. I swayed lightly and grabbed the milk jug, adding a small bit to cool it down a smidge. I was sitting on one of the barstools blowing into the mug in my hands when a cool breeze whipped through the room. I stiffened and fell silent. Frowning, I pulled out my ear buds and set my ipod on the counter.

"Hello."

I screamed and shot out of my seat, spinning around to throw my hot chocolate in the face of the unknown stranger. He gasped and hissed, hands flying up to his face. I screamed again and dropped my glass, running around the counter into the kitchen. I scrambled for the biggest knife I could find in the drawer and held it up defensively. The only light on was the light in the hallway and the small light over the stove. It was still too dim to see him clearly.

"Stay back!" I ordered, voice shaking.

He shook the hot liquid from his hands and came around the counter toward me. I backed into the counter, watching helplessly with wide eyes. I wasn't sure what to do. When he didn't show signs of stopping, my instincts kicked in and I lashed out to stab him in the ribs. He caught me by the wrist and I gasped. The pressure of his grip made me flinch. The knife fell from my hand to the floor with a loud clatter. I struggled, trying free myself, but he held fast.

"I am not here to harm you," he continued.

I froze and finally looked up at him. I was taken aback for a moment and squinted up at him to make sure of what I was seeing. Those eyes… those soulful blue eyes. Now that the light was hitting him directly, I recognized him. My legs felt like jello and my head spun. I could have sworn that had all been a dream, but what I was seeing told me a very different story. Unless this was the dream now… Somehow I doubted it. I let out a nervous laugh, catching myself on the counter before my knees could give out. He looked confused by my reaction. I swallowed hard and looked up at him in disbelief.

"You're Castiel," I said quietly.

He released my hand slowly and nodded. "Yes."

And then I realized I just threw hot chocolate in the face of an angel. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before I could actually find the words.

"Shit," I whispered. "I'm so sorry. You just… about gave me a fucking heart attack. Sorry, excuse the language." I took a deep breath, fanning myself in hopes to slow my racing heart. I couldn't look him in the eye. "That's gonna stain. Sorry. Here, take it off quick I'll go stick it in the washer."

I reached up to pull his tie off over his head without putting much thought into it. He obediently slipped out of his trench coat and set it on the counter. I had just finished running his tie under warm water, muttering to myself about how I was losing my mind, when I turned around to see him shrugging out of his white button-up shirt. I nearly swallowed my tongue. He had a much more toned body than I thought he would. I blushed furiously and averted my gaze, reaching out for the shirt in his hand.

"I'll uh… get this washed then," I mumbled, flustered.

I glanced back at him as I headed down the hallway toward the laundry room. My oh my did he look tempting. The basement door flew open nearly taking my arm off. I squealed and jumped back out of the way. Dean and Sam were standing there, guns pointed in my face. I gasped and stumbled back a few steps, tripping over my own two feet. Thankfully I didn't hit the floor. Regretfully, I found myself in the arms of a shirtless Castiel (only regretful, of course, because the thought made my brain go stupid). He stood me upright and I cleared my throat, trying not to look at him.

"Damn it, Cas," Dean snapped. "You can't just show up in people's houses like this in the middle of the night. And where's your shirt?"

He turned his head to look at him. "I needed to speak with you. This woman offered to wash my clothing so I removed it."

I hesitantly raised it in the air. "I uh… kinda threw hot chocolate in his face…"

Dean smirked, which I chose to ignore. I shook my head, looking one more time at Castiel's bare chest before squeezing past Sam and Dean. As if things weren't complicated enough to clutter my mind, I heard the jingling of keys outside the door. I sighed and laughed shortly.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," I muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

I tossed the shirt in my hand into the laundry room and hurried for the front door. I only made it a few steps before she flung the door open. She must have seen the light and heard voices because she came in talking.

"Longest. Drive. EVER!" she groaned, pulling her keys out of the door. "You know this place is awesome but it's kind of…"

She trailed off as she looked up. Dean and Sam turned to look at her and Castiel was still standing there shirtless, not a care in the world. She narrowed her eyes with a frown and cocked her head to the side. She looked from me to the boys, leaning slightly to her left to get a better view of Castiel. She took a breath to say something, but instead shook her head and stepped back outside to close the door. She opened it again a moment later. Upon seeing they were still there, she slammed the door and looked at me.

"What the FUCK is going on here?!" she snapped.

I let out a high-pitched laugh and covered my face with my hands. "Okay, well I guess that really settles it. I'm definitely not crazy. This is real."

"That does not even BEGIN to answer the question!"

"I know, I know, I know."

"No! You tell me what the hell this is! Am-Am I dead? Oh God, I'm dead…"

I laughed again and shook my head. "You're not dead! We did, however… kill a werewolf in the living room and bury the body out by the shed apparently he's been stalking me or you I don't really know but it's a lot to take in within just a few hours so just breathe and relax."

I rushed it all out in one breath of my own, inhaling sharply and heaving a heavy sigh. She looked at me with a blank expression, mouth slightly agape. She looked past me to the men standing at the end of the hallway. She walked right up to Sam and pinched his cheek. He grunted in surprise and pulled away. Donegal jerked her hand back, whipping back to look at me.

"Are you serious?" she asked, voice giving away her mounting hysteria. "Are you serious!? This is real?! Wait, did you say you killed a werewolf?"

I shrugged, wringing my hands. "Well I mean I guess technically they did… but I handled it a lot better than I thought I would, actually."

"Sorry if I'm interrupting something, but what's friggin the deal?" Dean asked suspiciously.

Donegal glanced at him over her shoulder before looking back at me. "He's a bit taller than I imagined," she whispered under her breath.

I nodded and looked over her head at him. "Sorry?"

"You're acting like you know us – know about us – and quite frankly it's freakin' me out."

I laughed and looked at Donegal. " _He's_  freaked out? HA! Imagine…"

"You are not from here," Castiel said, looking at me with a confused expression.

I tried my best to focus on his face rather than his pecs. "Um… Well, no I suppose not. I mean this isn't our house. We live in Washington."

"No, that's not what I mean," he continued, stepping toward me. I swallowed hard. He narrowed his eyes a little, deep in thought it would seem. It made me squirm. I felt like a slide under a microscope and he was scrutinizing me from the outside in. "This world… you are not from this world."

I quirked an eyebrow and looked at Donegal. She looked at me like a deer in headlights. I floundered for something to say for a moment. I came up with nothing.

"What?" I asked, looking back at him with just as much confusion, if not more.

"I meant what I said. You and your sister are not of this world. You have come from… somewhere else. Though I admit I can't pinpoint where."

I shook my head for what felt like the hundredth time that night and ran my fingers through my hair.

"This is insane…" Donegal muttered. "We've finally lost it. I blame television. Too many sci-fi movies…"

Sam looked confused. "What do you mean "not of this world" Cas? Are they –"

"Human? Yes. Very. They have been brought here for reasons unknown."

I sighed and looked at Castiel's shirt on the floor. "You know what? Let me get this in the washer and get him a new shirt and we'll all just sit down and talk about this, kay?"

Without waiting for a response I headed into the laundry room. Slamming things around a little more than necessary, I poured some detergent on his shirt and tossed it into the washer steadily filling with warm water. I fought the urge to just go back to bed, though it was a bit of an internal struggle. I walked past my disgruntled looking sister to head upstairs. Rick shouldn't miss one shirt too much. I brought it back downstairs and held it out to Castiel, keeping my eyes on the ground.

"Thank you," he said gratefully.

"No problem," I replied, heat rising in my cheeks. "Please put it on… It's kind of distracting…" He looked like he didn't understand. I just smiled and crossed the hall. "Why doesn't everyone just take a deep breath and have a seat," I said calmly.

Donegal was still looking at them like she had seen a ghost – which I guess wouldn't be much of a surprise at this point. I pushed her into the living room and into a chair. She didn't put up much of a fight. I sat down on the arm of her chair while everyone settled in. Thankfully Castiel had put the new shirt on and was now in the process of buttoning it. Donegal was watching with some level of interest. I took a deep breath and rubbed my temples. I had a full blown migraine now and it was getting hard to focus.

"Okay, look," I said slowly. "Where we come from, none of this stuff really exists. Well I mean I guess the whole ghost thing is up for debate, but whatever. Hunters, werewolves, vampires, ghouls, you name it. That stuff is all just make believe and that's the way it stays."

Dean scoffed and smirked from his seat across the room. "No offense, but that's what most people believe."

I smiled tensely. "Well in this case it's the truth. People don't make deals with demons, nothing like that. They really are just stories. Things are… normal, I suppose. Relatively at least, compared to here."

Sam smiled. "Must be nice."

I shrugged. "I guess so."

"So how did you get here then?" Dean asked, looking just as confused as everyone else.

I shrugged again. "Beats me. Until tonight I didn't know we  _were_  anywhere else. If you hadn't shown up I still wouldn't. I don't remember any specific trigger. We just got out here a few days ago. Nothing else weird has happened."

Dean pulled a face and shrugged, sitting back. "Well, you won't have to worry about it for long. We'll be outta your hair come morning."

I laughed shortly and looked over at my sister. She was apparently still in shock and not really taking anything in until that point. She frowned and looked over at him.

"You're joking, right?" I asked. "You can't seriously leave us here to fend for ourselves. We are NOT prepared for that."

"Really? And what would you suggest?"

I looked from him to Sam as though it should be obvious. "Take us with you."

Dean laughed heartily and looked at me like I was an idiot. "No. Plain and simple."

I crossed my arms stubbornly. "Yes. I mean yeah it's been a while since I went to the gun range - sue me. I've got some basic self-defense skills. You guys can teach us what you know. If you aren't willing to, point me in the right direction and I'll learn about it myself.."

"I am telling you no. This is not all fun and games. This shit is dangerous and I will not be held responsible for you two."

"Too late. You showed up here. This is now your problem. I don't know what dragged us here but I'm gonna assume there was a reason for it – whether it's the good guys… or the bad guys - because trust me, I have no delusions that everything is candy and sugar and fucking lollipops. I just buried a body in my backyard. I understand the gravity of the situation perfectly. I promise you one thing: If we get killed here because  _you_  didn't feel like dealing with us, I am going to haunt the fuck out of you. And when I'm buried, there will be one person who knows the location of my body. One. And she will be sworn into secrecy. You'll never find me to salt and burn my bones and you'll be stuck with me… forever."

He pointed his finger at me like he wanted to tell me off. Instead he pressed his lips into a tight line and slowly recoiled his accusing finger, forcing a smile into place as he just leaned back and sized me up.

"She has a point, Dean," Castiel said. Dean deadpanned and glared over at him. Cas, of course, seemed completely unphased by it. "Nothing happens without reason. I cannot say for sure why they are here. Reason dictates that it is perfectly logical that it wasn't our side that brought them here."

Dean looked pissed, Sam looked worried. I smiled triumphantly.

"Besides," I added. "It's not like we actually have to go with you into battle. We'd be more than happy to help you out on the research end. You might find that we're more helpful than you think. You know what, if you don't want us to we won't even help you on that. If you don't want to see us, that's fine. We'll stay out of the line of fire. Hell, you don't even have to drive with us. We can follow in our own car."

Dean scowled. "I don't like this Cas. It's a bad idea."

"Until we find out why they are here… it may be our best option," he replied.

I looked over at him wearing a pleased expression. "Thank you! Right, that's settled then. Not like I've unpacked my suitcase or anything so I'm pretty much good to go." I looked over at Donegal. She was ruffling her violet pixie cut hair as she stared at the floor. I nudged her and she looked up.

"Wha-?"

"Get it together," I teased, pinching her cheek. "We're going on a road trip."

She swatted my hand away with a glare. "Got it. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna catch some sleep beforehand. I expect you'll be wanting me to drive at some point."

I laughed and lightly punched her arm as she shuffled by in a daze. "Lighten up, bro."

I watched her leave and heaved a heavy sigh. Sam and Dean were looking at each other in a way that led me to believe they were having a sibling moment of speechless conversation. Castiel watched Donegal leave before looking back at me. I wondered fleetingly if he could read my mind. A tiny wave of panic shot through me and I looked away quickly. I searched through my mind for something else to focus on – anything but the TV show. Sky, stars, moon, forest, home; all of these things passed through my mind to keep from giving anything away, just in case. I looked back at him and he narrowed his eyes like he was trying to concentrate. When Dean finally broke the silence, it startled me.

"Fine," he growled. "But I'm serious. If we're working a job, you don't come with. Think of it as… being grounded. Mommy and Daddy will go out to take care of business and you two get to stay at home and keep yourselves entertained. Now get some shut eye cause we'll be leaving when the sun comes up."

He stood abruptly and nodded at Cas, who stood to follow him downstairs. I got to my feet and stretched with a yawn, ruffling my hair. I watched Dean's angry saunter disappear down the stairs before looking over at Sam. He was standing by the couch, shuffling aimlessly toward the basement door.

"Your brother always this pleasant or is this a special occasion?" I whispered with a grin.

He chuckled quietly, looking to the doorway. "Nah, don't take it personally. He's… He takes some getting used to."

I nodded. "Well, guess I'll be seeing you in the morning then. If you're up before us, which I'm sure you will be, help yourself to anything you like."

He nodded in return. "Thank you."

"No problem."

I flipped off the lights as I went, making my way back up to my room. I yawned again, shuffling my feet across the floor. I flopped on my bed face down, not even bothering to cover up, and hugged my pillow with a sigh. I was asleep again in minutes.

* * *

Sam found Dean and Cas in the theater. Dean was throwing back popcorn like he did beer, wearing an irritated expression as he stared straight ahead at the dark screen. Cas was looking at the same giant screen on the wall with mild interest.

"So what was so important?" Dean asked. "You said needed to talk to us?"

"Well… now that I am here what I have heard makes more sense," Cas replied slowly, turning to face them.

"What do you mean 'what you've heard'?" Sam asked, taking a seat.

"It's only in bits and pieces. The angels are… worried, to say the very least."

Dean straightened in his seat. "About what?"

"I'm not sure. The things I hear are very vague."

"Cas, what kinds of things are you hearing?"

Dean was getting impatient. Sam tried not to look as worried as he felt. Cas shifted his weight, looking hesitant.

"There's something here that wasn't there before," he replied. "That's all I can gather from the bits and pieces I've overheard. Whatever it is it's important. Angels, demons… everyone is looking for it."

"So wait, what are you trying to say?" Sam asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are… Are you saying it's  _them_?"

Cas glanced up at the ceiling for a moment. "I cannot say that with any amount of certainty, no." He looked back down. "But I do have a hunch."

"Great," Dean said sarcastically, pushing to his feet. "One more thing to worry about. What are we supposed to do? I mean, we aren't really going to take them with us, right? Do you have any idea how reckless that is? Especially – ESPECIALLY – if everyone we  _don't_  want to come across is looking for them."

"So they would be safer here? Alone? Is that what you're suggesting?"

Dean closed his mouth in a tight line and looked at the ground for a few long minutes. He paced the length of the screen on the wall, grumbling quietly to himself. He swore under his breath and sighed.

"Fine," he finally snapped. "But they don't come on missions. EVER. They stay in a room at the hotel with every possible way in and out safeguarded. Got it?"

"I find your arrangements agreeable," Cas replied.

Sam sighed and stood up. "Well I guess that settles it then. I'm gonna get a few hours of sleep before we leave. I suggest you do the same."

* * *

I woke up the next morning before my alarm had even gone off. The sun wasn't up yet, but the house was filled with dim morning light. I grumbled and dragged a hand down my face, forcing myself to get up. I spent a little time gathering any stray articles of clothing and shoes I had lying about. I dressed simple for the day – a faded old pair of skinny jeans that didn't hug my body like they used to, my favorite crimson Doctor Who shirt, black leather bomber jacket, and gray converse low tops. I hitched up the strap of my duffle bag on my shoulder and rolled my other suitcase out behind me out into the hallway. I left them at the bottom of the stairs and looked around blearily. The house was quiet, aside from the expected amount of creaking. I shuffled into the kitchen and dug through the fridge for eggs and sausage. I went about cooking breakfast, trying to smooth down the unruly hair on the back of my head. No matter how I slept I always seemed to end up looking like fucking Wolverine every morning. It was a small price to pay to have my hair off the back of my neck and out of my face for the most part. After everything was started, I went through the pantry looking for anything that might be helpful. I grabbed one of the reusable fabric totes hanging by the door and started filling it with non-perishable foods. When I came across the canisters of organic salt, I took them all. Better still, I knew where Linda kept her good cutlery; the  _silver_  cutlery, in particular. I packed the four knives of various sizes. They might come in handy. I was making pancakes when I heard footsteps on the stairs. I looked over my shoulder. Sam emerged from the basement, fully dressed but hair still a mess from sleep. I felt a swell of relief that it wasn't all a dream. I kept expecting to wake up and it would all be back to normal. I offered him the best smile I could.

"Morning," I said through a yawn. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, thank you," he answered as he stretched and took a seat at the breakfast nook.

He sat silently and watched me cook for a few minutes. I made him a plate and set it down in front of him. I passed him a fork and he thanked me again. I was just putting the last pancake on a plate full of them when Dean came in straightening his jacket. He looked so alert for how early it was. He took a seat next to Sam, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes. I handed him a plate of food and a fork. He raised his eyebrows and glanced up.

"You always cook this much?" he asked through a mouthful of scrambled egg.

I smiled. "If the mood strikes me. You're guests so it's only polite."

I set another two plates and left them on the counter to go wake up Donegal. She was sleeping in a room with heavy curtains, so the room was still pretty dark. I flipped on the light and yanked the covers off of her. She groaned and reached down blindly.

"Nope," I said. "Wake up! You gotta get ready."

She groaned louder. "For wha?" she grumbled through her pillow.

"We're going with Sam and Dean. Remember? The whole 'a werewolf broke into the house' thing? Ringing any bells?"

She lifted her head to squint up at me. She still looked half asleep as she glared up at me.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I bet you thought you were dreaming," I answered with a smile. "It's okay. I did too the first time I woke up. Kinda thought so this morning too, but they're downstairs eating breakfast right now. So get a move on. Pack up your shit. Take a shower if you need to. Breakfast is waiting for you. Seriously. Hurry up. We'll be leaving soon."

Her eyes widened and she flew off the bed, tearing around the room looking for something to wear. She stumbled out of the room for the bathroom, but caught the doorway and spun back to face me.

"I swear to God, if this is some kind of sick joke I am going to strangle you!" she hissed quietly.

I laughed and shook my head. "Go. You don't have much time."

She raced off down the hallway. I laughed aloud and started shoving all her things back in her suitcases. Might as well save us some time. She was done in record time. She was back in her room fully dressed in under ten minutes. She shook out her short hair, hopping around on one foot as she wedged the other into one of her combat boots. She grabbed her bags and followed me down the stairs. She left them next to mine and hesitated in the hall, staring at Sam and Dean chatting over breakfast. I touched her arm and she jumped, looking over at me sharply.

"It's okay," I whispered. "I promise you this is real. Just… come and eat. We can talk on the road."

She nodded and followed me into the kitchen. They looked up and Sam offered her a smile.

"This is my sister Donegal," I said awkwardly, grabbing my plate. "Donegal, this is Dean and Sam."

They exchanged brief hellos. She picked up her plate and stood in front of the sink. I couldn't tell if she was so pale because of the situation or because of the time of day. Either way she looked like she'd seen a ghost. I hopped up on the counter beside her, stuffing a bite of strawberry syrup coated pancake in my mouth. She nudged me with her elbow, finally coming out of her stupor.

"Get off the counter," she yawned. "This isn't your house."

"Piss off," I answered, shoving her with my leg. "I make the food, I can sit wherever the hell I want. It's comfortable. Be grateful I don't have my feet up here."

She scoffed. "Whatever…"

"What?" I said through a mouthful of egg. "It's not like I'm  _not_  gonna clean the counter before I use it again. Grow up."

I caught Dean and Sam sharing a smile with each other out of the corner of my eye. I smiled myself. It felt like seeing a male version of us. I thought about the situation more as I polished off my breakfast. We'd need to learn some good hand to hand combat if we were really committing to this. There was no possible way for us to always be out of harm's way no matter what we did. Something would always go wrong. The least we could do was be prepared. I hopped down and rinsed my plate. I plucked the car keys off the hook by the front door and carried my bags out to load the car.

"So," I ventured, leaning on the doorframe as everyone else got their things together. "Is there some place in particular that we're going or are we just… going?"

The brothers glanced at each other.

"Well, we might have a lead," Dean said slowly. "Some guy in Canton, Ohio bit the dust in a car accident yesterday." I opened my mouth to ask what was so strange about that, but he cut me off. "While the car was parked in a garage."

I shut my mouth and frowned. "That's… odd…"

Sam laughed. "Pretty much. Figured we'd head out that way. Shouldn't take too long to get there. A day and a half, maybe."

I nodded, watching Donegal finagle her suitcases into the trunk. "Sounds good. Uh… where's your car?"

"Near the end of your driveway," Dean said with a smile. "Couldn't just pull up to the front door now, could we?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hop in then. I'll give you a lift so we can get the hell outta here."

I locked the door behind us, feeling only slight guilt at leaving it unattended like this. On the other hand… would anyone even be coming back to it? I started my car and flipped a u-turn to head for the road. We rode in silence for a moment before Dean spoke again.

"You can stop here. We're off the road a bit."

I slowed to a stop. "We'll wait here for you."

Once they'd both headed off into the woods, Donegal looked over at me. I watched them disappear into the trees before I looked back at her.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" she asked. "The job, I mean. It's like… I can remember bits and pieces of things that haven't happened yet, but it's sort of… fuzzy. I can remember most things with frightening clarity, actually. I know this is after Sam started the apocalypse, but I'm not sure when."

I nodded. "Yeah, same here. I guess it's some kind of insurance to keep us from fucking anything up. The last thing I can really remember is Dean seeing the mass infection of the croatoan virus… seeing Sam as Lucifer. Do you know what happens next?"

She gave me an exaggerated frown and shrugged. "Nope. No idea. It's just in a bunch of little snippets. Guess we'll just have to go along for the ride and see what happens as it happens."

I scoffed. "Oh, joy. LOVE not knowing when I might get my ass handed to me on a silver platter. On the bright side, at least we have those tattoos that'll keep us from being possessed. Go fandom."

She laughed and a moment later I saw the infamous Impala pulling out onto the gravel. Dean stuck his hand out the window and waved for us to follow. I sighed and put my car in drive.

"Here we go," I muttered to myself.


	4. Chapter 4

Donegal slept on and off for the next five hours or so until we stopped for lunch. I wasn't bothered by it too much. I kept myself occupied with music and my own thoughts about the situation. We definitely needed to log some hours at the gun range, maybe a gym too if we could find one. More importantly, would anyone from our world miss us? If watching Supernatural had taught me anything it was that things in another world didn't just stand still because you were in another. We couldn't just cease to exist. I stretched gratuitously as I stepped out of the car at the gas station we were stopped at. I yawned and scratched my head, pulling out my debit card to pump gas. Thankfully it still worked. I wasn't sure if it would. I pounded on the window and Donegal jumped, looking around in a daze. She fumbled with the door handle for a few seconds before pushing it open, swearing under her breath. I squinted in the sunlight, reaching into the car for my sunglasses. I hadn't driven like this for a long time. Not that I minded traveling, but it was taking longer than I would like for my ass to fully regain feeling. She left me to go inside to the bathroom. I watched the numbers tick by on the gas pump, leaning back against my car. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. My headache was coming back already. I sighed and leaned in to dig through my purse.

"Hey."

I jumped and stood up quickly, whacking my head on the doorframe on the way out. I gasped and swore loudly, clamping my hands down on the offending pain in the back of my skull. Sam was doing a horrible job of stifling his laughter.

"Sorry," he said quickly, clearing his throat. "Just thought I'd let you know we're planning to stop in some town called Smith. It's a small town in Indiana, so we've still got a bit of a drive." He handed me a small piece of paper. I looked the numbers over for a moment until I realized they were phone numbers. He pointed to the first listed. "That's my number. That's Dean's. Give one of us a call if you need to stop for anything before then."

I nodded and smiled. "Thanks Sam. Will do."

He smiled awkwardly and turned abruptly to head back to the Impala. I chuckled quietly and shook my head. The gas pump clicked and I hung it up. I yawned again and headed inside for a sandwich, a bottle of water, and some bottled coffee. Donegal tossed me a Monster from the cooler. I barely caught it and threw her a glare.

"You'll need more than just that sissy frappuccino," she said with a grim smile. "I'm still tired and I've gotten twice as much sleep as you."

I nodded and handed the young boy at the register a twenty. I thanked him when he handed me my change and stuffed it in my pocket as I headed back outside. Even with sunglasses, the light was overbearing.

"Sam said we're gonna try to stop somewhere in Indiana," I told my sister. "Smith, I think it was. So we still have like… ten hours of driving. I don't know how they do this shit multiple times in one week. I can barely feel my ass."

She threw her head back to laugh at me and I chuckled, giving her a light shove. We were back on the road shortly. I cracked open my bottle of Starbucks and downed it as quickly as I could. I sighed heavily and turned up my ipod. If we were driving an entire day away, I may as well enjoy my music. I wiggled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to her with the piece of paper Sam had given to me.

"Put these in my phone," I said. "The first one is Sam, the second is Dean. Put them in your phone too. We might need them."

* * *

We pulled into a small town shortly after midnight. My eyes were burning and I was ready to go the hell to sleep. I'd already killed my Monster and bought a second one, but they didn't do much good. Donegal was asleep again, snoring lightly in the seat beside me. I parked and waited patiently while Sam and Dean checked in. I was on the brink of dozing off when I heard a tap on the window. I jerked and sat up straight, looking around in alarm. Dean was holding up a room key. He moved to let me open the door. I stretched my arms up over my head, standing on my tippy toes for the full body effect.

"Your room is right next to ours," he said as he handed me the key. "Room 114. I want you to salt the windows and doors, just to be safe."

I frowned, ruffling my hair, and replied in a tired voice, "Okay, whatever. That's fine. I grabbed some salt before we left. They don't use iodized salt, so I've got it covered I'm just glad to not be sitting in that car anymore you must have tailbones of steel cause my ass feels like it's been dissolved into nothing…"

He laughed and threw his bag over his shoulder. "We've been doing this for a while. I guess we've grown immune. Take it easy. Just knock or give us a ring if you need anything."

I nodded and popped the trunk to grab my duffle bag. I couldn't help but wonder why they were being so damn nice – especially Dean. I figured he'd still be royally pissed at having to drag us along for the ride.  _Maybe_  Castiel had talked some sense into him, but even that was highly doubtful. I tried not to be too suspicious about it. I set Donegal's bag on the asphalt and pulled her door open. She jerked awake and looked around through half open eyes. She let out an animated groan and poured herself onto the pavement beside me. It was a good thing her suitcase had wheels. She probably would have just dragged it behind her anyway. I locked the door thoroughly behind us. Donegal collapsed onto the nearest bed. I dug out one of the canisters of large grain salt I had snagged and lined the door and window with it. The bathroom didn't have a window, so that was one less opening I had to worry about. I stripped down and put on my usual long shirt and boxers. I stretched out on the free bed and flipped on the TV. Now that I was relaxed, I didn't feel the urge to sleep anymore. I was still awake a couple of hours later. I looked around the room, bored out of my mind. The walls were a bland shade of beige with a pale flower pattern, the carpet light brown. The comforters on the beds were dark green with equally dark roses. It looked like a garden exploded across the room, really.

I sighed and rolled off the bed. My throat was feeling scratchy. I remembered seeing a vending machine by the staircase a short distance from our room. I looked back at Donegal sleeping. It probably wasn't a good idea to go out alone, but as long as we weren't being followed at the moment it shouldn't be a problem. I grabbed the smallest silver knife I'd packed and hid it up my sleeve. I made sure to take the room key and shut the door firmly behind me. The air still held a slight chill from the residuals of winter. It was pretty dark, since there weren't many lights around. We weren't right off the highways, so the sound of traffic was faint. I strolled casually down to the end of the building where the vending machine was tucked away underneath the stairs. I popped in fifty cents and rocked on the balls of my feet as I went down the list of flavors. I heard the soft padding of someone walking up behind me. I told myself it was just someone going to their room, but it still made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I punched the orange soda button and stooped to pluck it out of the dispenser. I turned around slowly, fully prepared to stick my baby knife where it would hurt. To my great surprise, it was Dean. I laughed shortly, pressing my palm to my racing heart, and let out a shaky breath.

"Jesus Christ bananas," I said under my breath. "Literally was just thinking about stabbing you dude. You really shouldn't sneak up people."

He cocked his head to the side, giving me a curious look before he flashed me his crooked, charming smile and replied, "I seriously doubt that."

I held up my little knife and smiled smugly.

"I don't. I know where to hurt a person and in multiple ways. I've been kickboxing for about three years now. I'm surprisingly nimble for my height."

He raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?"

I raised mine back, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Don't be cheeky."

His grin broadened and he shook his head. He continued, looking a bit more serious. "It's not a good idea for you to wander… alone… at night."

He emphasized the last parts in particular. I shrugged and waved the knife in front of his face.

"I didn't go out completely unprepared. It's silver. Could help me out a lot. For instance…"

My hand darted out to touch his with the broad side of the knife. He jerked his hand back, looking offended. I smiled.

"I can rule out that you're not a lot of things from that and most likely the real you," I concluded. "You forget… I'm clever."

He scoffed and waved me off. "Really though. I'd feel better about it if you just… tried to stay in at night. At least at night."

I frowned and cracked open my soda to take a drink. "Fine. I just… don't usually get a lot of sleep. Are you guys still up? Can I come hang out with you?"

"Well, I-I uh…"

He stumbled over his words, looking more than a little flustered and confused. It was kind of nice to see him flounder. I had expected to be the one doing most of the awkwardness.

"Excellent! You can tell me all about your theories on this case. I'd love to hear it. I really would."

He sighed heavily and rubbed his chin. Finally he shrugged (complete face and shoulder, like he was so well known for – the fangirl in me went wild).

"Okay, I guess," he said, starting back for the rooms. "Just don't… touch anything."

He looked to me for acknowledgment. I nodded vigorously and mimicked putting my hands in my pockets.

"Hands to myself – got it."

He glanced around before unlocking the door and pushing it open. I slipped inside after him and moved to let him lock the door back into place. Sam looked up and I saw surprise and embarrassment flash across his face. He looked like I'd caught him in nothing but a towel. I smiled awkwardly, rubbing my hands together as I stood for a moment trying to decide what to do with myself. Then I caught sight of the duffel bags full of weapons on the bed to my right. My eyebrows shot to my hairline in shock.

"Holy shit," I muttered. "Good to see you're prepared for anything."

"Yup," Dean replied, walking past me to sit at the table across from Sam. "That's how we roll."

I laughed and shook my head, crawling across the second bed to sit Indian style at the edge. I looked over all the different books they were looking through. Sam looked up at me from his computer screen curiously.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

I peeled my eyes away from the spines of the books to look at him. "Hmm? Oh! No, everything is fine. I just… I couldn't sleep and Donegal is sleeping, so…"

He nodded and I leaned to the right to catch a glimpse of the screen.

"So do you guys have any ideas on what might be doing this?" I continued.

Sam shifted in his seat like he was uncomfortable with me being as close as I was to him. I tried to hide my smile and sat up straight.

"We're not sure yet," Sam replied. "We've got a few ideas. We're leaning toward some kind of possession."

I nodded, staring back at the scarlet book cover that had caught my eye. I chewed my lip, trying to read the faded title on the spine. Dean saw me looking. I know he did because I could feel him watching me. He sighed and turned page in his book before leaning forward to grab the scarlet book. He passed it to me, giving me a stern look.

"Be careful with it," he warned. "It's very old."

My face lit up and I beamed with excitement. I held my hands out and cradled it in my lap a moment. I readjusted my seating to sprawl out on my stomach on the bed. I carefully flipped back the cover. My eyes scanned the introduction pages. They were beige with age and smelled slightly of dust. The title read "Daoist Exorcism: Encounters with Sorcerers, Ghosts, Spirits, and Demons: Training in Daoist Magic From the Zheng Yi School of Ancient Chinese Mysticism". I raised an eyebrow and nodded my approval before continuing. It was a little hard to understand, but from what I could draw from it, this book was largely various incantations for different scenarios. Not all of it was in English either. I read through anyway, picking apart everything that I could. When my eyelids started to droop, I'd lost track of how much time had passed. I fought against it. I reread the same blurring line over and over without taking it in.

* * *

When Dean looked up next, Connemara was asleep and still holding the open book with one hand. He threw her an exasperated look even if she couldn't see it. Her bangs were tucked behind her ear, leaving her viewable. She looked peaceful, face smooth and expressionless. He scanned her arms, separating out the different tattoos in her sleeves. A lot of it seemed pretty random, things that would need explanation. It was all very well done. That in combination with the number she had led him to believe that she put great care and thought into the work she got done. She had a horseshoe ring through her septum and a labret stud, the marks on her eyebrow from an old piercing still fading. She was quite a character, and he hadn't decided yet if that was in a good way or a bad way. Sam noticed him looking and glanced over.

"Wake her up," Dean told him.

Sam looked back at him with a quizzical look. "What? No. Just let her sleep. It's not like we'll be sleeping."

His brother deadpanned and rolled his eyes. "Let's save our selves a freak out, shall we? Her sister isn't gonna like waking up to an empty room."

"Fine. Take her back to her room then. You don't have to wake her up."

Dean sighed heavily and pushed himself to his feet. He pulled the book carefully from her grip and turned to set it on the table. He picked up the room key off the blanket beside her and scooped her into his arms. She groaned lightly in her sleep and cuddled against his chest. He could smell the strong, citrus fragrance of her shampoo. Sam laughed quietly and cleared his throat. Dean glared down at him and mouthed, "shut up". He managed to get the door open fairly easy. He struggled with hers for a few seconds before he got it to open. Her sister was sprawled across the first bed, snoring quietly. He tried to juggle having her in his arms with pulling back her blankets. She muttered under her breath and stretched, wrapping her arms around his neck. He froze for a moment to allow her to settle before quickly yanking the sheets back. He set her legs on the bed and wiggled the blanket down to cover her feet. She relaxed, arms easily coming away from his shoulders. She pulled the blankets up to her chin and curled up in a ball, sighing with content. He cleared his throat and set her key on the nightstand. He set the alarm for 7:00AM and slipped back out the door. He clicked all the locks back into place on their door and exhaled heavily, sauntering back to his seat at the table. Sam glanced up at him, the hint of a smile on his face.

"Everything go okay?" he teased.

Dean glared at him and smiled sarcastically. "Great. Thank you. Don't you have work you should be doing?"

He smiled and returned his gaze to the computer screen. He opened his mouth to say something more but Dean cut him off.

"Don't… tell me it's not a good idea." He pointed an accusing finger at Sam. "Don't say it. You know I like the idea of the unattainable."

Sam laughed and raised his hands submissively. "I wasn't gonna say a thing."

* * *

I woke in the morning to the annoying blare of an alarm clock. I grunted and swatted around in the dim lighting of the hotel room until I found it. The time read 7:00AM. I growled quietly and dragged my ass out of bed. I didn't remember making it back to my room last night. Sam or Dean must've brought me back. I grabbed some clean clothes and shuffled into the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water just made me want to go back to sleep. I hummed to the tune of the music playing aloud from my ipod as I lathered my hair. The powerful mixture of scents was starting to bring me back to life. I was singing along with Rhythm of Love by the time my shower was finished. I dried off quickly, stepping into a clean pair of underwear and securing a bra into place. I wriggled into a pleated dark blue denim skirt and a white tank top. The over shirt was a light gauzy fabric that hung loosely, sleeves down to my elbows. A line of elastic ran under the bust line, separating the snugness from the flowing, multi-length underneath. The main color was robin's egg blue. A tie-dye pattern of vibrant orange splotched across the blue in a way that made it look like alligator skin. I began the rigorous task of forcing my feet into a pair of knee high black and white converse while I tried to continue brushing my teeth. I blow dried my hair and parted it slightly to the right. It looked almost like a bob when it was like this. I threw on some eyeliner, mascara, and perfume and finally emerged feeling refreshed. It was only 7:20AM. I'd made better time than I thought. I jumped onto Donegal's bed, bouncing up and down on my hands and knees.

"Wake up!" I shouted brightly. "Get up, get up, get up!"

She growled and threw a pillow at me. I dodged it with a laugh and crawled over to poke her in the ribs.

"Come on. If you want to shower you need to do it now. We'll be leaving in thirty minutes, I assume. Get up!"

She rolled over and rubbed her eyes with an annoyed sigh. It was a good sign. It only took her a couple of minutes to come to her senses enough to start gathering clean clothes. I beamed at her as she passed me to go to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna go see if there's a continental breakfast!" I called after her. "If there is, I'll bring something back for you."

She grunted her acknowledgment. I grabbed the room key and practically skipped out the door. I was in a good mood this morning. Maybe it was the excitement of new prospects, maybe it was just getting to hang out with adorable men constantly. Either way I strolled into the front office with a grin. I asked the woman at the front desk about continental breakfast and she pointed me in the right direction with a smile. I shouldn't have been surprised to see Sam and Dean stuffing their faces at a nearby table. For the size of this hotel, they had a pretty decent selection of breakfast foods. No meats, regretfully, but I piled myself a Styrofoam bowl of Fruit Loops and filled the Belgian waffle maker. I grabbed a glass of orange juice and plopped down at the table with Sam and Dean.

"Somebody's in a good mood," Dean muttered.

I smiled and replied, "I  _am_  in a really good mood this morning, and that's not a phrase I use lightly. Usually mornings make me wanna punch a wall. Guess I must've slept well last night. Thanks, by the way, to whoever took me back to my room. Didn't mean to pass out on you guys."

"No problem," Dean said through a yawn. He glanced at my outfit of choice and gave me a skeptical look.

"Wha?" I asked innocently. " _We're_  not going ghost hunting. I can dress how I want…"

Sam chuckled and eyed my cereal choice, quirking an eyebrow. "I took you for a Lucky Charms kinda girl," he commented with a smile.

I made a face and shook my head. "It's a texture thing. The feel of those little freeze dried marshmallows across your teeth as you bite into one is like hearing nails on a chalkboard. It makes my skin crawl. And if you let them sit long enough to get soft then the rest of your cereal gets all soggy and gross."

I picked up my bowl and drained it of milk, smacking my lips with delight. The waffle maker dinged. I got up to ditch my bowl in the trash and retrieve my waffle. I doused it in syrup and returned to my seat. I cut off a chunk and chewed it for a moment before I continued.

"So how much longer is this drive gonna be until we're there? Another six or seven hours, right?"

Sam nodded. "Sounds about right."

I sighed and rolled my neck, taking another bite of waffle. It gave me something to do other than keep spilling word vomit in a struggle to fill the void of silence between us. I looked over at Dean. I couldn't tell if he was actually engrossed in the newspaper or if he was pretending to be to not have to make conversation like I was. I tilted my head to the right so I could see his face better. He looked like he was concentrating, but I didn't see his eyes scanning the page. He seemed tense. Part of me really wanted to ask him if he was okay. The majority of me was terrified by the very idea - so much so that my palms started sweating. I watched him a moment longer as I finished my waffle. I didn't know them well enough to push my boundaries. I stood abruptly.

"Well, guess I'll go make sure Donegal isn't asleep again," I blurted out as I got rid of my empty plate. "Let us know when you're ready then."

"Sure, no problem," Sam said.

I grabbed Donegal a bagel, cream cheese, cereal, and milk and hurried back to our room. I kicked on the door, juggling all the foods I had in my hands. It took Donegal a few minutes to open the door. She was dressed already, shaking out water droplets from her wet hair. She was dressed a little more sensibly than I was – a pair of faded holey jeans and her black David Bowie concert shirt. Her black skate shoes poked out tentatively from beneath the hem of her pants [she was several inches shorter than I was, so her pants were usually just a little too long for her]. Her eyes roamed over my outfit choice and she rolled her eyes with a laugh and went to grab her bag.

"What?" I snapped. "I can dress how I want! We're not tromping through the woods yet, are we?"

"I guess not," she replied. "Tryin' to be all cute and shit…"

"Shut up."

I hiked my duffel bag up on my shoulder and waited for her, swinging the room key around my index finger. I checked around to make sure I had all my things and headed out to the car to pack up. Sam and Dean emerged as I was shutting the trunk.

"Here, I'll take your key and go check us out," Sam said.

"Sure."

I tossed it to him and got into the driver's seat. We were on the road again by 8:00AM. I could still feel the soreness from yesterday so another long drive wasn't something I was looking forward to. I sighed and turned on my ipod. Hopefully time would pass pretty quickly. At least I wasn't at a loss for things to think about. It was taking time to adjust to this prospect. I wasn't sure if it would really sink in until something bad happened. Well, something worse than burying a werewolf…


	5. Chapter 5

Canton, Ohio wasn't nearly as small as I pictured it being. It was a little bigger than Columbia, but definitely smaller than I'd gotten used to over the last few years. I followed the Impala to a cheap hotel and waited for Dean to bring the room key to my door. He dropped it into my waiting palm as I watched Sam unloading their bags. I leaned against my car, squinting in the midday sunlight.

"Sooo," I said slowly. "How exactly does this work?"

Dean forced a tense smile. "We've gotta get the first hand account of what really happened, so we'll be starting at the police station. You…" He pointed at me and narrowed his eyes. "I want you to stay in the hotel room. At least until we're finished."

"Aw, what?!" I whined. "Can't we at least… Oh, I don't know… Go to the mall or something? Go see a movie? Go to a bar?"

He paused in the beginning of his tirade, closing his mouth as he looked at me thoughtfully. "Maybe to the bar… but not until later. We don't know what's causing all the problems, so I don't want the two of you walking into anything you aren't prepared for."

I sighed in exasperation and pouted. "Fine. This TV better not be too old to hook up my Playstation. I'm gonna need  _something_  to do to kill the time."

He laughed at my response and slowly shook his head. "You… are freakin' weird."

I raised an eyebrow. "Says the man who hunts monsters…"

"Yeah, whatever…" He started for his room, calling over his shoulder, "I'll let you know when we're back. And you better be here!"

"Yes, sir!" I chuckled and made my way to the trunk. "Jesus… Now I remember why I moved out so early… It's like traveling with mom..."

The TV was old, but thankfully not too old to connect our game system. Good. At least that would give us something to do. The room was nicer than I thought it would be. There was a divider between the main room and a small kitchenette. Across from that was the bathroom. Donegal sprawled out on one of the beds and I started playing Kingdom Hearts. As I listened to Sam and Dean getting ready in the next room, I wished that I were going with them.

"Do you think they'll ever let us go along?" I mused aloud.

Donegal laughed, digging a book out of her purse. "Don't count on it. Dean Winchester is a thousand times more stubborn than the two of us combined."

I heard their door close followed by the rev of the Impala's engine. I groaned with longing. I wanted to be involved in this so bad it hurt. To any normal person the idea must seem insane, but for me? I could hardly imagine anything greater than having the chance to experience one of my favorite shows  _as a real life event_. Like, the actual characters… being real… in the dingy hotel room next to mine… separated by nothing but drywall. Ha! Thousands of fangirls would kill to be where we were now. We go through life dreaming of something like this happening, filling our heads with whimsical stories of ending up in other worlds where the characters we love are real. Now that it had actually happened and we were in the midst of our very first case, the true reality of the situation was starting to sink in. I abandoned my game to go splash water over my face. I was starting to shake.

I ran through the details of every episode that came to mind – the danger, the hurt, the pain, the sorrow. The glee and excitement had hit a dark wall that quickly. It took my breath away. All of those emotional moments, those had actually happened. Dean had actually been in Hell for the equivalent of nearly forty years. I couldn't begin to imagine the things him and Sam had been through. If the show had brought  _me_  to tears, I didn't even really want to know what it had truly been like. The idea horrified me, as a matter of fact. It was all flying at me at once, one realization after another. Here, at least, there was a Hell. There was a Heaven, for that matter. Angels, demons, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and so much more… they were all real here. And apparently they were quite active. By coming along with Sam and Dean we had more or less just signed our own death warrants. Would it have been any less dangerous for us to stay alone unprotected though? I was hyperventilating. Oh God, I was going to have a panic attack.

I made a beeline for the door, Donegal looking up from her book curiously. I shook my head held up a finger, slipping out into the mild afternoon air. I raised my arms up over my head and squeezed my eyes shut. My chest and throat were burning. I tried to focus on taking deep breaths, but it just made my head spin more. I couldn't really hear myself gasping for air over the sound of blood pounding in my ears, but I could feel it. My hands and feet were starting to tingle. My eyes teared up involuntarily [at least that's what I told myself; I shouldn't be this emotionally involved already]. Someone touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes, but no matter how much I blinked everything continued to swirl. My knees buckled and an arm around my waist eased me down to the pavement. I closed my eyes again. I felt like I was going to be sick. I laced my fingers and put my hands behind my head, coughing as I tried to catch my breath. There was a muffled voice. I couldn't understand what was being said through the haze of thoughts assaulting my senses, but it sounded vaguely similar to my name. A cool hand pushed my bangs back from my face. The voice was starting to come through. Someone was indeed saying my name, telling me to breathe. It was slowly getting easier to do so as my muscles relaxed and I repeated over and over to myself that everything would be all right. The pounding in my head receded and I opened my eyes. Donegal was sitting on the hood of my car, watching apprehensively. I sighed heavily, still panting, and sat back on my heels. Hands on my shoulders were keeping me steady.

"You all right?" Sam asked. He was kneeling beside me to my right, Dean on my left. The latter was still holding my hair back out of my face. I exhaled slowly and nodded.

"Yeah," I replied breathlessly with a short laugh. "It was just a panic attack. I'm okay."

"Can you stand?"

I nodded again. They took my hands and pulled me to my feet, holding on for a moment until I was steady. I blinked hard to get my bearings and ruffled my hair. I avoided looking directly at anyone. Donegal was wearing a mischievous smirk that I chose to ignore. I smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks," I said, trying to make light of it. "I'm fine, really."

"What the hell was that about?" Dean asked, finally releasing my arm.

I shook my head. "It just… happens sometimes. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? You scared the crap out of us! You almost passed out in front of our hotel! I'd say that's a pretty big deal."

I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. I really wished he would just drop it. This sort of thing embarrassed me on a normal day. Needless to say them witnessing an episode had me less than thrilled. On the bright side, I hadn't had a seizure. That was the only thing keeping me in good spirits at the moment.

"Dean," Sam said calmly, giving him a look of warning before shifting his gaze back to me with a softer expression. Thank God one of them had a level head sometimes. "What got you so worked up? Is everything all right?"

I laughed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "It's nothing. It was stupid."

Obviously I couldn't tell them what was really wrong. They would think I'd gone mad, which was really saying something after some of the things they'd seen. Sam and Dean glanced at each other before back at me. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"I… freaked out about leaving the Tanner's house like we did, okay?" I lied. "I was just… I got to wondering if they were gonna send someone looking for us when they get home and realize we aren't there."

Donegal slid off the hood of the car. "I hadn't thought of that…"

I shrugged, glad she was going along with the charade, and crossed my arms over my chest. "It is what it is. I'm not reneging on my decision to come along. I just panicked for a minute. We'll deal with that when we come to it."

"You sure you're okay?" Sam asked.

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I promise." I noticed then that they were both wearing black suits – and they looked quite dashing at that. I blushed and turned to Dean. "So how about that bar? I don't know about you, but I could use a drink."

He gave me a confused look for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yeah… Yeah… Uh, Sam is staying here to do some research and I was gonna go to a few local hot spots to see what I can get from some of the other townsfolk."

"Great. Donegal, are you coming?"

She made a face and shook her head. "No, you know I don't like bars. Go for it."

I looked back to Dean, settling into a mask of enthrallment with a smile. "So I can ride with you, right? It would be silly for me to take mine too."

He nodded reluctantly and waved me on. "Yeah, all right. Come on then."

My smile broadened and I followed him to the Impala. I looked his car over carefully. She was still in excellent condition considering some of the things she had been through. Right now her black coat was shining, not a spot on her. He watched with a grin as I gave my nod of appreciation.

" _This_  is a nice car," I said with a laugh.

"Thank you," he replied proudly, patting the roof. "She's been to Hell and back but she's still goin' strong."

I smiled again and opened the door. Good thing I knew how to stroke his ego. If we were gonna make sure to keep this going, we needed to befriend them. I ran my hand over the upholstery, taking in all the details. It was definitely much better taken care of on the inside than my car. I guess it was easier to maintain a car like this when you knew what you were doing. I watched all the shops pass by my window. Some of them looked promising. Maybe we could do some shopping while we were here, pick up a souvenir. He stopped a short while later, pulling up to the curb near a pub called The Green Dragon Tavern. I raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Seems like as good a place as any to start," he said with a smile as he shut off his car.

I shrugged. "I'm not picky. Wherever is fine with me."

* * *

Donegal watched her sister leave with Dean, wringing her hands anxiously. They hadn't really talked about it much, but she could guess the reason her sister had freaked out. She'd been trying to avoid thinking about it herself. The more time that passed, the harder it was becoming to ignore: this was all very real. Not just what was happening now, but everything that had happened in the past – all those horrific things… They had lost so many people, their father included, and seen so much. Dean had really been in Hell. That was one thing that was giving her a lot of trouble in particular, being an atheist. Here there was a Hell… there was a Heaven… Satan, demons, angels, a God, in theory. The glimpses she had seen on the show hadn't bothered her when that's all it was. It was now a very real prospect and she found it rather alarming. Anything could happen here. Since she highly doubted they would for some reason be magically invincible, it was entirely possible that they could end up being dragged to Hell at some point; especially if they worked with Sam and Dean. And she wasn't the least bit convinced that she and her sister were important enough to be pulled back out…

"Hey."

She jolted out of her thoughts and shook her head, looking up at Sam with wide eyes. He was watching her apprehensively.

"You okay?" he asked.

She'd barely spoken to them since this whole thing started. She couldn't bring herself to. She wasn't good with people on a normal basis, let alone beautiful men who happened to be some of her favorite fictional characters. She blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just thinking…"

He nodded back in understanding. "Well, I was just gonna be looking some stuff up on the computer for a while. You wanna join me?"

She smiled, giddy at the idea.

"Sure."

Sam closed the door behind them and Donegal looked around the room with great curiosity. Her eyes fell on the guns splayed across the bed. She made a mental note to get in some shooting practice. She hadn't been to a gun range in a few years. Even then she had only fired a small handgun. In a profession like this, using a shotgun was more or less a necessity. So was melee, for that matter. Yes, a gym was a definite must. A personal trainer would be best, really, but they wouldn't have time for that; unless one of them taught her, of course. She grinned to herself, looking over the ancient-looking books on the table Sam was settling at. She picked up a brown leather-bound book and sat down in the chair next to him.

"Do you mind?" she asked, holding it up.

He shook his head. "No. Go for it."

She cracked it open and raised her eyebrows. It was largely written in Latin. She pouted out her lips in thought as her eyes scanned the pages. Little notes in chicken scratch writing were scribbled all over the place. She kept flipping pages even though she couldn't understand a thing of what it was saying. She made another mental note to start learning Latin. She had a feeling they would need it. She glanced over at Sam. He looked like he was in the zone, eyes locked onto the computer screen. She got like that when she was on the computer, but she imagined the things she did were of far less importance. He might've forgotten that she was even there. She argued with herself for a long while before deciding to speak.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, leaning over to catch a glimpse of his screen.

"We, uh… got the number off the engine of the car to trace it back to its original owner," he replied. "We've gotta find out if it's the real deal or not."

Donegal nodded and sat back in her chair. "Have you had any luck yet?"

He scrunched up his face as he stared at the screen. "Sort of. I'm haven't found anything on James Dean yet, which is a big tipoff. I think it's gotta be a fake."

She nodded again and returned to her book. They fell into silence, though not an uncomfortable one. She liked finding people she could share a mutual silence with without anyone getting awkward. It was refreshing. Time ticked slowly by. She had changed to a new book on spirits of Ancient China and was immersed in the story when she heard Sam 'hmm' to himself. She immediately became alert and looked up at him.

"Find something?" she asked eagerly.

"Yup," he replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "I was right. It's a fake. I've gotta call Dean."

* * *

I followed Dean inside, eyes sweeping the bar. There were a fair number of people present considering that it was only about four in the afternoon. Dean split to case the place and I headed straight for the bar. A young woman smiled and greeted me.

"Hey! What can I get for you?"

"Hello," I replied. "Can I get a Tequila Sunrise?"

"Sure thing!"

She turned away to grab a cup and started mixing. I watched her work until she was finished and handed her a five-dollar bill. I moved to sit in a corner, watching the other patrons interact. Dean made his way to the bar and started chatting up the barmaid. I smiled and shook my head, swirling my straw around my drink. I occupied myself by running through every episode up until. I closed my eyes to concentrate. I was surprised by the clarity with which I could recall all the details. This should be near the beginning of the fifth season, not long after Dean was pulled back from Hell. I shook my head, trying to clear away those thoughts. It took a while of sorting through all the details to realize that this would be Sam and Dean's first real case back together after… well, since Dean got back. This was a big moment. I smiled to myself. I couldn't entirely fight being excited to be a part of it. I suppose technically we weren't yet. We'd have to prove our worth before they would even consider letting us come along.

"Hey."

Dean knocked on the table as he slid into the seat across from me. I jumped and opened my eyes.

"Find anything out?" I asked hopefully.

"Not from the locals, no," he replied as he sipped on his beer. "Get this…" He leaned forward, an excited glint in his eye like he was about to share with me a deep secret. "The friend of the guy that was killed told us the car was Little Bastard."

Good thing I watched the show so much, otherwise I would have no idea what that meant. Instead, I managed to feign surprise.

"James Dean's car, right?" I asked seriously.

Dean nodded and continued. "I got the engine number from the car and had Sammy look into it. Turns out it's a fake."

I nodded, following his line of logic. "Well, I guess that strikes out the whole cursed car theory. Are we back to ghosts then?"

He sighed and leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know. I'm not sure what we've got our hands on. But I can almost guarantee you it isn't going to stop here."

I frowned, taking a long drink. "You think there will be another attack?"

"I'd put money on it."

"So what can we do? Do we just sit back and wait?"

"For now… pretty much. We'll just have to keep digging, doing more research."

I nodded and took another drink. I didn't much like the idea of waiting around for someone else to get offed. Maybe we'd get it figured out in time. At least I tried to tell myself that. I'd been watching the show long enough to know better. I finished my drink and licked my lips with a refreshed sigh.

I smiled tensely and said, "Well then, I guess we should head back. I'm ready when you are."

He held up a finger and threw back the rest of his beer. "All right. Let's go."

I followed him back to the Impala and rode quietly back to the hotel. I played with my fingernails nervously. I was sitting alone in a car with Dean Winchester. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. Christ he was pretty. His face was clean-shaven and smooth. He looked over at me; he must've felt my eyes on him. I smiled broadly and returned to gazing out the window. Hopefully the red around my ears wasn't that noticeable. Once he had parked, I got out and stretched my body out to my tippy toes. I fell into step beside him.

"So… do you mind if I join you guys again?" I asked hopefully. "I won't fall asleep this time, I promise." He gave me a look that suggested he was doubtful, but nodded anyway. "Great! Let me grab my laptop."

I hurried to our room and unlocked the door. I was more than surprised to find the room empty. I looked around curiously before grabbing my computer bag and heading back out. I peeked in the door to Sam and Dean's room. Donegal was settled at the table to Sam's right. She looked up at me over the top of her book and grinned with a small wave. I smiled and closed the door behind myself. I crawled onto the bed by the table once more and sat with my back against a pillow on the headboard. The beds looked pristine, like they hadn't even been slept in. For all I knew, they hadn't. I watched Dean peel off his suit jacket as I pulled out my computer. My eyes darted over to Donegal. She mouthed 'ermagerd' and made a squealing fangirl face. I nodded my approval and lowered my eyes to the loading screen. Sam had since abandoned his jacket as well, apparently. He sat in a relaxed position, the sleeves of his white button up shirt rolled back to his elbows. I could at least appreciate his beauty. My smile widened and I had to force myself to focus on what I was doing. As a matter of fact, what exactly was I doing? I had no clue where to go from here. I exhaled slowly, puffing out my cheeks. I suppose Google would be an appropriate place to start. I tapped my fingers across the keyboard as I absentmindedly thought of what to search for. I guess it would be best to start with the essentials. I typed "kinds of possession" into the search bar. The request was too broad and brought up all kinds of crap that didn't even matter. I backspaced and thought a moment longer. "Spirit possession object" is what I typed in next. It came back with some pretty interesting website suggestions. None of us said a word for hours, each so deeply involved with what we were doing. It took me a long while to figure out why I was getting increasingly uncomfortable. My stomach rumbled loudly and I looked at the time on my laptop. It was almost nine o'clock. No wonder.

"Okay, am I the only one that's starving?" I asked, closing my computer. "I feel like I could eat a horse."

"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry too," Donegal replied as she marked her spot in the book in her lap. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Sam? Dean? You in?"

Dean shrugged and leaned back to stretch. "Yeah, we may as well. We can just pick up where we left off when we get back."

I crawled to the other side of the bed and grabbed the phone book out of the nightstand drawer. I flipped to the restaurant section and scanned the pages.

"Um, Lucia's Steakhouse," I said brightly, slamming the book shut and putting it back in place. " _That_  is definitely where we're going."

Donegal stood up to put her flats on. "Mmmm… I can always go for steak."

Dean laughed quietly, shaking his head to himself. "Steak it is."

"Awesome. I'm keying it in to my GPS now. You can follow us if you want or we can all go in one car."

Dean loosened his tie gave me a skeptical look. "We can take the Impala."

I laughed, tightening the laces on my shoes. I'd let him lead the way if he wanted.


	6. Chapter 6

We took our stuff back to our room and followed Sam and Dean out to their car, climbing into the back seats. It was roomier than I thought it would be, at least. I gave him directions to the restaurant and thankfully it only took a few short minutes. My stomach was starting to hurt. I wondered if they went without eating like this often. I was willing to bet they would have forgotten about dinner entirely if we hadn't been there. The place looked pretty nice. The name was scrolled across the front in delicate cursive. We had to wait a few minutes to be seated, but I had a feeling it would be worth it. I knew what I wanted within ten minutes. Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise at my order – BBQ onion burger with cheese fries. Once our waiter had left, I looked over at him.

"What?" I asked in an irritated tone. He was making me feel self-conscious.

He smiled. "Nothing. Just didn't peg you for the greasy burger and steak kinda girls."

I laughed and sipped on my glass of water. "What were you expecting? A salad? What the hell do you think I am? A rabbit?"

Donegal chuckled, looking over the drink menu. Sam smiled and leaned back in his chair, hands laced together and resting on his stomach. We sat in silence for a short while until Dean broke the ice.

"Which of you two is oldest?" he asked, looking hard from one of us to the other.

I laughed and pointed at Donegal as she raised her hand tentatively. He looked surprised.

"Huh. I would've guessed it the other way around."

I shrugged. "We get that a lot. She's only a year and a half older and we look a lot alike. People used to think we were twins."

He nodded. "I can see it."

I smiled and leaned forward eagerly. "So, have you guys come across anything yet?"

"Nothing useful," Sam mused. "Just a bunch of stuff that doesn't really fit in with the situation."

I nodded. "So what about the car? Did you get an EMF reading or anything that leads you to believe it's ghosts?"

Dean raised his eyebrows and gave me a curious look, but answered anyway. "No, actually, which strikes me as odd. I'm not so sure that what we're dealing with is a possession. We're right back where we started."

The waiter brought out our food shortly after. I wiggled in my seat with excitement. I thanked the young man and didn't hesitate to cut my burger in two. I eyed Donegal's steak and looked at her.

"Trade bites?" I asked, picking up a cheese fry.

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh… fine…"

I cut off a piece of burger and swapped it for the piece of steak she was offering. I munched happily, choosing to ignore the amused looks Sam and Dean exchanged. When Donegal reached for one of my fries later, I instinctively karate chopped her hand with a loud "hya!" and blocked her hand. She laughed, which made me laugh, and tried to wriggle her hand past mine. I grabbed my butter knife and held it to the hand I had pinned down.

"I'll cut it off!" I said. "I will end you!"

We laughed until my sides hurt.

"Stop!" she whined. "Share your fries…"

"I will! Stop trying to stick your fingers in my cheese sauce!" She pulled her hand back and glowered at me as I used my fork to move some to her plate. I looked up when I heard Dean chuckling quietly. "What?" I asked incredulously.

"You're… how old again?" he asked, pointing his fork at us.

"Oh don't act like you two have never behaved like arses in public."

He raised his hands in submission. "I was just wondering…"

I rolled my eyes and lazily chewed on a French fry. "I'll be 25 in June. Donegal turned 26 back in November."

He looked surprised. "Really? Ya'll are making me feel old…"

Sam looked at him like he was a drama queen. Donegal laughed.

"Aren't you only like a couple of years older than me?" she asked. I kicked her foot and she hastily added, "You look it, at least."

Thankfully he didn't think into it, or if he did he didn't show it.

"Yeah, I guess," he grumbled. "Looks like you two are the babies here."

He gestured to Sam and I. We looked at each other and smiled, shaking our heads. We headed back to the hotel around eleven. I was both surprised and pleased that they paid for dinner. Rather, the poor chumps whose names happened to be on their credit cards paid for our dinner. I yawned widely and stretched after I got out of the back seat. I scratched my head, ruffling my hair.

"I think I'm gonna call it a night early for once," I said. "I don't know how you guys make it on only a few hours of sleep a night."

Sam smiled. "We've had time to adjust."

I nodded. "Welp, I'll see you guys in the morning then. G'night."

"Night," they replied in unison.

Donegal followed me back to our room, collapsing onto her bed. She groaned and rolled onto her back.

"I'm so tired and we haven't even done anything," she grumbled.

I stretched again and flopped down on to my bed. "I know. I'm restless. I wanna be out there doing something. I know we can help."

"In theory we can help. I'm not so sure that if we were actually out there in the line of fire we'd be much help."

I threw her a quizzical look. "Well,  _I_  could do it. We need to get you boxing or something."

She laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that. Just because we lost weight doesn't mean I want to work out all the time."

I sighed and rolled onto my side to look at her. "Come on. Don't you wanna be out there fighting the bad guys?"

"I mean it's one thing to want it when it's all make believe. But this shit is real. These are  _real_  demons and monsters out there that they're dealing with. I don't know that we're ready for this. Don't you remember how many times these people have either almost died or oh, I don't know… ACTUALLY died? And these are people that have been doing this for years. For now, at least, our best shot is to stay out of the way. Besides, don't you think we should  _not_  mess with the story line?"

"Ah, yes, the ultimate question of fanfictioners everywhere. Really though our mere presence here has already changed the plot, right? Like everyone always says, there's gotta be a reason we ended up here."

"Maybe… but still. Let's just take it slow, okay? Maybe visit a gun range sometime. We haven't been in a while."

I nodded appreciatively. "Now there's a good idea. I'm sayin' though, you won't always have a weapon available. I mean you've seen how often they lose theirs. How do you think we'd fare?"

She growled quietly. "I guess…"

We were silent for a while before she sat up suddenly and looked at me with excitement.

"You know what we should do?" she asked. I shook my head. "Get rings made of iron! Like we saw on Tumblr?"

"Yes!" I said dramatically. "Oh my God! Oh! Oh! No! I've got one better! Brass knuckles! Or iron knuckles, I guess. As backup?"

"Amazon! Now!"

I whipped open my computer and immediately started trolling. We went back and forth comparing details for a long while. By shortly after one in the morning I had it all hashed out. I'd found a bundle of about fifty iron rings on ebay for a low price, a pair of silver brass knuckles with spikes, a couple of silver knives with finger loops, and an iron knuckle duster with a bat figure. Donegal had made a similar choice – same knives, we'd share the rings, silver brass knuckles adorned with skulls, and an iron knuckle duster in the shape of a snake. I was about to place my orders when I had one last idea.

"Oh my God!" I said with a gasp.

Donegal jumped and looked over at me with wide eyes. "Don't do that! You scared the shit out of me."

"You'll never guess what I just found! Collapsible hula-hoops! We can get some to carry with us." She deadpanned, looking at me like I was an idiot. I explained. "We fill them with salt! In times of trouble, piece them together and BOOM! Instant protection. And the salt won't get blown away."

She made a face that reminded me of Dean and nodded. I laughed aloud and added ten to the list. You never knew when you'd need them or for how many people. In addition to what I had already selected, I picked out a pair of leather gloves with weighted knuckles. More importantly I managed to find some slim body armor vests that shouldn't be too noticeable if we wore loose shirts. The shoulder pads might be a little tricky, but it looked like they were removable. The chest, stomach, and back were what I was worried about and those all appeared to be covered. I was under no delusions that it would stop everything, but it would definitely help. I wanted to be prepared for anything. Guns would be something else entirely. I'd have to ask Sam and Dean how to make those rock salt shots. I looked up the address for the hotel we were staying in and managed to get everything ordered for same day delivery. It was expensive, but it would be worth it. I sighed and shut my computer, rubbing my tired eyes. I set the alarm for eight and switched off the light over the nightstand. Donegal yawned and shut down her laptop, tucking it under the bed. We exchanged goodnights and I put in my headphones as I snuggled down under the covers.

* * *

A slamming door in the morning woke me up. I grunted and sat up, looking around in a daze. The alarm clock was only a few minutes away from going off. I growled and leaned over to turn it off. An engine outside roared to life. I recognized the rev of the Impala and scrambled out of bed to the window. Dean and Sam were pulling off. I frowned, wondering why they were headed out so early. I grabbed some clean clothes and my ipod and headed for the bathroom. By the time I had rinsed the shampoo from my hair, it suddenly struck me. There had been another murder last night. Abe Lincoln was the supposed culprit if my memory served me right. I danced around the bathroom singing to Destiny's Child while I blow-dried my hair. Donegal was a pretty heavy sleeper, so I probably wasn't disturbing her much. I wiggled into a light amethyst wash pair of cuffed denim shorts and a black v-neck t-shirt. Donegal was slowly waking up as I returned to my bed.

"What time is it?" she groaned.

I glanced at the clock. "It's about 8:30."

She let out a dramatic groaning sigh and dragged herself out of bed. She shuffled to the bathroom grumbling under her breath. I smiled, tightening the laces of my knee high converse. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and pinned my bangs to the left, grabbing the room key and heading to the office for breakfast. I was scanning the display of pamphlets, munching my cereal, when one of them caught my eye. I drained the milk from my bowl and crossed to the stand to pick it up.

"Wax museum?" I muttered to myself, turning the paper over in my hands. "Creepy as fu-uck…"

Still, I had a feeling this was important. I opened it as I walked back to my room and nearly choked on the toast I was chewing. The wax museum had an Abe Lincoln figure. I hurried to the door and unlocked it. I dipped quickly into the room, slamming the door shut behind me. Donegal jumped, looking at me in alarm.

"What the hell?" she asked, pulling a Star Trek shirt down over her head.

I grinned proudly and handed her the pamphlet. She glanced over it and then gave me a curious look.

"Seem familiar?" I asked, so giddy I was bouncing on the balls of my feet.

I could see the concentration written all over her face as she thought about it. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she pointed to the paper in her hand.

"This is it, isn't it?!" she squealed. "This is where all the shit is happening…"

I snatched it back and grabbed the car keys. "Come on. We're going."

She blanched and floundered a moment for something to say.

"We-We can't go there!" she objected.

I gave her an 'oh please' look and said, "Oh, blah. You know nothing happens the first time they go there. This could be the beginning of getting them to trust us! We've got a shot to start building up our street cred. Don't be a punk."

She growled and sat down on the bed to put her shoes on. "Fine. Let's just hurry and get this over with. I don't wanna be there if shit goes south."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on!"

I grabbed my wallet and dashed out the door. I started the car and plugged in my ipod, waiting impatiently for her to follow. I typed in the address on my GPS. She slid into the seat beside me still looking disgruntled. I smiled and put on my sunglasses as I pulled out. I felt pretty badass at the moment. I hummed along as we drove, Donegal telling me when to turn. The museum was across town. It took about fifteen minutes to get there. Luckily traffic wasn't that bad yet. I squinted at the small building through the windshield and shut off the engine. I got out, tucking one of the silver knives into the waistband of my shorts. Donegal followed suit, both of us pulling our shirts down to conceal them.

"You ready?" I asked nervously.

She grumbled. "I guess so… Wax museums are fuckin' creepy…"

I nodded my agreement. I tucked my hands into my pockets and exhaled slowly. Donegal opened the door for me and we stepped into the dimly lit building together. The walls were white, contrasting sharply with the black floor. The front desk was black stone mounted on white and golden yellow swirled marble. It didn't look too bad in here, but my guess was the statues freaked people out. I looked around at the paintings on the walls. When I saw the first statue, I cringed and kept my distance.

"Hello!"

I jumped at the sound of a voice. A small, balding man came around a corner wearing a big smile. My heart was racing with the adrenaline of the situation coursing through my veins. Being startled only increased my edginess. I forced a pleasant smile.

"Hey," I said brightly.

"Can I help you with anything?" he continued.

"Um… I think we'd really like to just take a look around if you don't mind."

"Of course! Not at all."

"Awesome. Are there any particular segments we should pay special attention to?"

"Several of the exhibits here actually have some very valuable memorabilia; genuine articles that belonged to the real thing. Abe Lincoln, James Dean, Ghandi… and that's just a few."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Donegal. I smiled back at him.

"Sounds great! We'll give you a holler if we need anything."

"No problem. Enjoy!"

I watched his form retreat and elbowed Donegal in the ribs. She grinned.

"This is it, isn't it?" she whispered excitedly. "This is how people are dying. It's all this memorabilia crap."

I followed her onward through the museum.

"I think so, yeah," I replied, squinting at one of the figures. "It makes sense. Although I'm still don't think it's ghosts. There's something else here… I'm just not sure what."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. This not being able to remember the details is really getting on my nerves. It's not like we'd change anything even if we could. In a place like this I'd hate to see the butterfly affect that would cause…"

We swept through the place pretty quickly. It was only about 10:30 when we got back to the hotel. Sam and Dean weren't back yet. I plopped down on my bed to watch Donegal play one of her videogames. I was so excited I could hardly sit still. I couldn't wait for them to get back so we could tell them what we found out. Time seemed to crawl by. I had time to take a nap and read a few chapters of Harry Potter. I sighed impatiently for the hundredth time. I was heating up a bowl of soup for lunch when I heard the rumble of the Impala's engine and abandoned the microwave to run to the window.

"They're back!" I squealed with delight. "I don't wanna be a creep. Let's wait for them to at least get inside."

Donegal laughed and paused her game. The microwave beeped and I forced myself to cross the room slowly to retrieve my food. Really I just felt like kicking their door in to explain that we were brilliant, but obviously that wouldn't go over well. I wanted to prove our worth so bad I could taste it. I sat down on my bed and practically inhaled my soup so we could go. Donegal watched with an amused expression while she waited. It was already almost four in the afternoon. I got rid of the empty paper bowl and grabbed the pamphlet as I rushed past her. I knocked on their door, bouncing on the balls of my feet. It took a moment for someone to open the door. Before Dean could say anything, I slipped past him into the room wearing a pleased grin. I slapped the pamphlet down on the table in front of Sam and turned to face a very confused looking Dean.

"You'll never guess what we found today," I said in a sing-song voice.

Sam picked up the brochure and raised his eyebrows. "You've got to be kidding me…"

Dean crossed the room, still giving me a confused look. He glanced at the paper his brother was holding and an almost identical expression fell into place on his face.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered.

"Serious as a heart attack," I replied. "And that's not all. The place has legitimate memorabilia that belonged to some of the subjects."

"Let me guess," Sam said. "James Dean and Abe Lincoln."

"Yup. I think it would be worth a visit."

"Definitely," Donegal chimed in. "You might be able to find out something we couldn't."

Dean raised his eyebrows before settling into a stern scowl. I slowly turned to look at Donegal with a 'really, bitch?' expression. She shrugged and looked away guiltily.

"You  _went_  there?" he asked sharply. "By yourselves?"

I looked back at him and crossed my arms. "Yes… And as you can see we're still in one piece. We went armed, though we didn't really need it. Oh, don't be so huffy! Jeeze… YOU'RE WELCOME!"

Sam chuckled. "Come on, Dean. You have to admit it's worth a look."

Dean sighed, still giving me a displeased look. I flashed him a broad grin.

"Fine," he grumbled. He pointed a finger at me. "You're staying here, though."

I laughed. "That's okay. We've already been. Heads up, it's definitely as creepy as you think it will be."

Feeling pretty good about myself, I headed back to our room with a bounce in my step. Donegal followed, shaking her head and laughing.

"You really know how to rub him the wrong way," she said, shutting the door behind us.

I laughed. "What? He needs to lighten up sometimes."

The phone to our room rang. I jumped in surprise and hopped across Donegal's bed to answer it.

"Hello?" I said tentatively.

"Miss Higgins?"

"Yes…"

"This is Ted at the front desk. We've got some packages here for you."

"Oh! Thank you! I'll be right over."

I hung up and jumped up.

"Our gear is here!" I said excitedly. "Come on. I'll need your help."

Some of the boxes were bigger than I thought they would be. I was grateful that Sam and Dean had left just before we walked out of the office. I knew they'd ask questions and right now that didn't seem like the best idea. I tore into the boxes before Donegal had even shut the door. I held up the body armor vest with a grin. She frowned and cocked her head to the side.

"What's that?"

I pulled my shirt off over my head to try it on.

"It's body armor," I said with a grunt, twisting to fasten all the Velcro and buckles. "It's meant for extreme sports. It's not gonna stop bullets or anything, but it'll certainly make me feel safer."

I tossed hers to her and put my shirt back on. I went to look in the mirror, turning in circles to get all the views possible. It really wasn't that noticeable. And that was just with a t-shirt. I had plenty of shirts to wear that were looser than this. I took a seat on the bed and opened the next box. It was the iron rings. I looked through them to pick out a few that I liked and passed them to Donegal. I looked over all our weapons and the emptied boxes. I was pretty proud of us. I mean the knives may not kill demons, but they would probably at least be useful. We'd have to put this stuff to the test – and soon, I hoped. I made a quick trip to the local Walmart to grab a couple of new duffle bags. I rearranged the suitcases in the trunk to give space for the new luggage we'd have. I was never more grateful to have such a massive trunk. I knew it would come in handy some day, though… maybe not in such a way as this. Still, as I loaded our weapons and gear into the trunk I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. I'd be damned if we weren't gonna be going on the real missions.

I got tired of waiting for them to get back pretty quickly once the excitement of getting our new things wore off. I made another run to the store to get a swimsuit so I could enjoy the pool. I bought a solid red tankini set and a pair of fiery sunset girl's swim shorts. I went ahead and got the same in blue in case she changed her mind about joining me. I slathered the strongest sunscreen I could find onto my pale skin and grabbed a pair of sunglasses before heading out to the small pool. I plugged up my speaker and hit play while I blew up my floating lounger. I enjoyed the solitude for a while. When I got tired of swimming laps, I pulled in my floatie and put my sunglasses back on to lie back and relax. I hummed quietly, soaking my hands in the cool water. I didn't bother to open my eyes until I heard footsteps approaching. Dean was standing by the pool with his hands in his pockets.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked with a grin.

I squinted up at him in the early evening light. Good to see he was in lighter spirits and not so grumpy with me anymore. I smiled and stretched.

"You plan on hopping in with that nice suit or do we finally have some good news?" I asked.

"You were right about the wax museum," he replied. "The place gives me the creeps and the owner confirmed he has Abe Lincoln's actual hat and James Dean's keychain. Me and Sam are gonna head back tonight to burn the remains and get this taken care of."

I nodded and rolled off my floatie. "Sure thing. Do me a favor and take this will you? I may as well come in. The sun will be setting soon."

I passed it to him and heaved myself up out of the water. I turned off my ipod and speaker, throwing my towel over my shoulder as I followed Dean back to our rooms. I fell into step beside him.

"Sooo…" I said slowly. "Do… you and Sam need any help tonight?"

He gave me a quizzical look, mouth shut in a tight line. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Couldn't hurt to ask. Be careful, then. Let us know when you're back."

"Will do," he said, handing me my pool floatie.

I shut the door behind myself with a sigh. Donegal looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Why so glum, chum?" she asked, returning her gaze to her videogame.

"Nothing," I replied in a sulky tone.

She laughed. "Did Dean tell you we couldn't go?"

"Yes…"

"Shocker. I could've told you that."

"Shut up."

I took another shower to rinse off the smell of chlorine. I crossed the room to peek out the window as I towel dried my hair. The Impala was still parked there. I whined quietly. This was only our first trip and I was already sick of sitting around in the hotel. I yawned and stretched, curling up on the bed. If I couldn't be useful, I may as well turn in early.


	7. Chapter 7

When I woke up, the room was full of sunlight. Donegal was still asleep, snoring lightly on the bed beside me. I looked over at the alarm clock. It was only nine in the morning, but it felt like I had slept past noon. I growled and rolled out of bed, shuffling over to the window. The Impala was parked back in its place beside my car. I scratched my head and dug through my duffle bag for clean clothes. I pulled on a black scoop-neck tee and a pair of loose leopard print overalls. I put my hair up in a ponytail, taking the time to make a braid on each side. I tied my converse and grabbed some chunky sunglasses before heading out the door. I lit a cigarette and looked around in the early morning light. Things were quiet. They seemed normal. I guess it usually seemed normal to people like me – people who weren't raised in the lifestyle Sam and Dean were.

I climbed up on the hood of my car and crossed my legs, leaning back to look up at the clouds as they passed me by. When I was done with my cigarette I crossed my arms behind my head, making myself a pillow. The air was cool and crisp. It gave me goose bumps, but it felt nice. I looked up when I heard a door close. Sam looked surprised to see me there. I smiled and sat up.

"Hey!" I said brightly. "How'd it go last night?"

He shrugged and nodded his head. "It went fine, I guess."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that he had something on his mind. I slid down the hood to the ground, squinting at him in the sunlight.

"What's up? Something weird happen? Well, you know… weirder than usual…"

He smiled a little. "You know, ghosts usually go out with this fiery… angry yell… Something like that… This one didn't. It just… disappeared."

I tilted my head to the side curiously, replaying the scene for myself in my head.

"Is that…? Well, I mean, has that ever happened before?"

He shook his head. "No. That's what makes me skeptical. Something in my gut tells me this wasn't a ghost. It attacked me and it was like… like it was trying to bite me or something."

I raised my eyebrows. "Yeah, that definitely sounds out of the ordinary. Have you talked to Dean about it?"

He shuffled his feet and looked down at the ground. "No, not yet."

I felt like I was treading on dangerous territory. The situation with Sam and Dean was still pretty delicate at this stage. I buried my hands in my pockets. I didn't want to speak out of turn, but he looked like a big sad puppy. Damn his cute face.

"You should," I urged, taking a few steps forward. "I know how older siblings are on a normal scale. Dean, he's… a bit of a special case." Sam laughed at that. I smiled. "You have to  _make_  him listen. Some people just need a bit more of a slap in the face than others."

He smiled and nodded, looking back up at me. "Thank you."

I rocked on the balls of my feet, still smiling myself. "No problem."

We stood in awkward silence for a moment.

Sam cleared his throat and asked, "Were you, uh… gonna grab some breakfast?"

I scrunched up my face in thought. "You know, I'm actually craving some serious hash browns and croissants. I think I'm gonna run over to Burger King. You want anything?"

"Nah, I'll just grab some cereal."

I nodded, pulling out my keys. "Okay. I'll be right back. If Donegal asks… Never mind. I think we all know she won't be up before I get back."

He chuckled and we parted ways.I popped a hash brown into my mouth as I sat at a stoplight on the way back to the hotel. I was bobbing my head to the music playing loudly, looking around at the shops lining the streets. A group of young girls crossed in front of me laughing and talking amongst them. I glanced up at the light and sighed. A tall blonde crossed close behind them and I choked, thumping on my chest to dislodge the bit of potato in the back of my throat. I leaned over and squinted hard. It couldn't be. I dug in my pocket and pulled out my phone, almost dropping it in my haste. I had Donegal on speed dial.

"Come on," I muttered. "Pick up… Come on!"

It was on the last ring when she finally answered.

"Hello?" she mumbled groggily.

"Hey! You'll never guess what I am looking at right now! Who, rather."

"What? Where are you?"

"I went to get Burger King. That's beside the point. Paris fucking Hilton. She's walking downtown. Actually, I think… I think she's following these girls. What the hell is she?"

I heard muffled sounds of movement.

"Get back here now."

She was definitely awake now. I pulled off, slowly turning to follow the path they were taking.

"She's gonna take one of them, isn't she?" I asked, scanning for a quick place to park.

"You don't know what she is! You're in over your head, do you hear me? I'm gonna go get Dean!"

"Oh, don't be a tattletale. I'm just… experimenting. I'm gonna see if I can stop it…"

"I swear to God, I will kill you if she doesn't! Get back here NOW!"

"I've got this under control. Give me ten minutes. Get up and get dressed. I just turned off Lincoln Highway onto Market Avenue South. I'm near the… National First Ladies' Library? If you haven't heard from me by then, go tell Sam and Dean."

After a moment of silence she sighed heavily. "Fine. Ten minutes. If you get yourself hurt I'm gonna kill you…"

I laughed and hung up, whipping into a free spot. I put my phone on silent and wedged it into my bra. I watched them approaching in the rear view mirror, formulating a plan in my mind. I took a deep breath and got out, locking the doors behind me. I clipped my keys onto one of my belt loops and fell into step behind her. It was still pretty early in the morning. There weren't many people out now; on this street in particular. The three girls continued on completely oblivious. I could see the face of this Paris… whatever she was… reflected in the windows of the shops we passed. Her face was expressionless, her eyes locked on the girls ahead of her. It gave me the creeps. I pulled a five-dollar bill out of my pocket.

"Excuse me!" I called.

She stopped and whipped around to face me on a dime. I faltered in my steps, but continued forward to meet her. She was taller than me in those heels she had on. I held the money out to her.

"I think you dropped this," I continued. "I found it on the sidewalk back there."

She stared down at me, face still blank. Even then I could tell she was sizing me up. I met her gaze in as non-intimidating a way as possible.

"No, I don't think so," she trilled.

They weren't quite far enough away yet.

"Are you sure?" I said quickly.

She looked down at me a few seconds longer. I smiled broadly, trying to seem as innocent as possible. Finally, she gave me a sneer.

"Maybe I did," she replied, taking it from my hand.

I nodded. "Welp… Have a good day!"

I backed away a couple of steps before I turned my back on her. I exhaled heavily, staring down at my feet. I told myself to stay calm and not to look back. All I had to do was make it back to the car. A hard shove threw me off balance. I gasped and threw my hands out to catch myself. I swore quietly and looked up at her. She grabbed me by the throat and lifted me off the ground to face level.

"You did that on purpose," she growled quietly. "Have you been following me?"

"Christ you're strong," I choked out.

She threw me into the wall with more force than I had expected. I grunted and hit the ground hard. She put me in a headlock and started dragging me down the street. I could hardly believe this was real life right now.

"Get your hands off me!" I shouted, trying my best to pull her arms away. "Get the fuck off!"

"Is everything all right?" someone called.

It must be one of the girls. The grip around my neck tightened. I choked for air. I was starting to see spots of color.

"Call the police!" I croaked. "Call the police!"

"I'm sick of you," Paris said in that sickly sweet voice.

She released me long enough for me to take a solid breath before she slammed me into another wall and everything went black.

* * *

Donegal paced the room nervously, twisting the bottom of her tie-dye shirt around her index finger. She had a bad feeling about this – and not only because Dean and Sam would be pissed (mostly Dean, really). The whole situation was unsettling. She didn't like the idea of either of them interacting with anything in this world, least of all something they knew nothing about. This was their new reality. She glared down at her phone. Her sister didn't seem to quite have a grasp on that yet. She exhaled slowly. Connemara's ten minutes were up. Just for good measure, she tried to call her phone. It rang and rang until it went to voicemail. She groaned and slipped out the door. She hesitated for a moment before knocking on the boys' door. Dean answered, looking like he hadn't slept much last night. She swallowed hard, wringing her hands. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Is… everything okay?" he asked slowly.

"Um…" she replied, making a face. "About that…"

His face fell and he leaned out the door to look around. His gaze settled back on her. He was upset, she could tell.

"Where's your sister?" he asked.

Donegal sighed and squeezed past him into the room. Sam looked up from the table curiously.

"Well…  _initially_  she was making a breakfast run. She called me a few minutes ago and said…"

Dean waved her on. "Yeah? Said what?"

"It sounds stupid, but hear me out. She said… she saw Paris Hilton walking downtown. Don't look at me like that! This is serious!"

He cleared his throat, glancing at Sam, and nodded for her to continue.

"I mean really, what the fuck would the real Paris Hilton be doing in a town like Canton, Ohio? She said it looked like she was following this group of girls, so… she was following her. She told me if I didn't hear back from her in ten minutes to come to you. She's not picking up…"

Dean rolled his eyes in exasperation and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did she say where she was?" he asked in an agitated tone.

She scrunched her face up in thought. "Um… Market Avenue, I think? She said she was down the street from the First Women's Library."

He sighed heavily, crossing the room to lean on the chair next to Sam, who looked up at him with worry. Dean slammed his fist down on the surface, making her jump.

"This is why we don't bring stowaways," he growled, crossing the room again to grab his suitcase. "Come on, Sammy. Looks like we've got our work cut out for us today."

* * *

Donegal was sitting on her bed turning her phone over in her hands. She had been sitting in much the same fashion for the last half hour listening to Sam and Dean as they got ready to leave again. Only a short time had passed since they left – a few minutes at most. Her phone rang and she jumped, eyes darting down to the screen. She sighed heavily. It was only Dean.

"Hello?"

"We just got a call from the sheriff," he told her. "Three young girls came in to report a woman being abducted. He said they were pretty hysterical."

She swallowed hard and stood up to pace the room. "God damn it…"

"Just sit tight. Don't do anything reckless. We'll find out what we can and be back as soon as possible."

She nodded, reassuring herself. "Okay. Bye."

She hung up and tossed her phone onto her bed. She didn't like the idea of sitting around waiting while Connemara was missing, but she knew she wouldn't be much help at this point. If they didn't know what it was that took her, they didn't know how to kill it. She flopped down on her bed and opened her computer. The least she could to was find out where the library was and find their car. She wanted to go now, but not enough to risk pissing off Dean even more. She groaned dramatically and turned on the TV to wait. The more time that passed, the darker her thoughts became. Suddenly they slapped her in the face; was her sister still gonna be alive by the time they got this figured out? She felt her stomach lurch and closed her eyes to force away the nausea. She refused to follow that line of thinking. She had to be willing to put a little bit of faith in Sam and Dean. It was easier said than done when her sister's life was hanging in the balance.

* * *

Donegal was awakened sometime later by a knock on the door. She sat up straight, looking around in a daze. She rolled off the bed and staggered to the door, glancing out the peephole to see who it was. She yanked the door open, trying to wake up a bit. Sam and Dean were dressed back in normal clothing. They smiled grimly at each other.

"What's the news?" she asked as brightly as she could muster.

"I went back over the bodies of the victims," Sam said, reaching into his pocket. "I found these in their stomachs."

He held up a small evidence bag with a couple of dark round objects. She grimaced and leaned forward to get a better look. She stood up straight and looked back up at him.

"What are they?"

"Seeds," he replied.

She frowned. "What from?"

"An ancient forest in the Balkans; said to be guarded by the Pagan god Leshii."

"So you think… a god is doing this?"

Dean nodded. "Something like that. We're heading back to the wax museum now. Just wanted to fill you in."

She glanced down at her phone, chewing her lip nervously. She hadn't realized it was so late. Connemara hadn't called back. She hadn't really expected her to, but she had to hold onto something. She sighed and ruffled her hair, looking back up at Sam and Dean.

"Just be careful, okay?" she said, forcing a smile.

They nodded and Dean gave her one of his usual smirks.

"We always are."

* * *

Sam joined his brother at the trunk of the Impala to retrieve what they would need. Thankfully there was an empty lot right around the corner. Dean grabbed the axe and slammed the trunk shut. The two started casually across the street. Dean looked a little more irritated than usual. Sam sighed. He could tell the situation with Connemara and Donegal bothered him on a normal day. This escalated things.

"Look, Dean," he started off slowly.

Dean put up a hand to cut him off. He looked over at his brother, brow furrowed with irritation.

"I told you this would be a bad idea," he said. "Granted I didn't exactly know they'd go  _looking_  for trouble, but… Think about it, Sammy. If you had a chance to  _not_  be a part of this – this lifestyle, monsters, the apocalypse – wouldn't you take it?"

He shut his mouth in a tight line and nodded. Dean threw his arms up and shrugged before he continued.

"I don't get it. I really don't."

"They're probably afraid to be alone," Sam reasoned, picking the lock on the side entry. "If they really aren't from this world… they've already got it as bad as we do, Dean. They don't have any family here, any friends. It's just them."

Dean looked at him thoughtfully, closing the door behind them. After Cas made his last visit, he hadn't put much thought into what he'd actually said. There was so much on his mind already that he'd started pushing things aside for later. A separate world didn't seem like that much of a stretch after some of the things they had seen. Come to think of it, they'd experienced something similar to alternate realities on several occasions. He had thought even less on the fact that they seemed to be the only two that had come through from... wherever. Better yet, could they be sent back home? He made a mental note to ask Cas the next time he breezed through. The sooner he didn't have to worry about them, the sooner he could refocus on stopping the apocalypse and saving his brother. Sam shined his flashlight back at him and he shook his head to clear his mind. For now, at least, he'd have to put those thoughts back in their box. Honestly, he wasn't sure if that was a can of worms he really wanted to open…


	8. Chapter 8

My head was pounding. I groaned and tried to lift my hand to rub my temples. I couldn't move. I opened my eyes and blinked hard, trying to focus. For a moment I thought I was out in the woods until I got a better look around. A figure was standing on the porch of a white house ahead of me. I squinted. It was a wax figurine. I shuddered and laughed to myself. Of course… I was back in that creepy ass wax museum. I was tied to what was apparently a fake tree. I grunted and wiggled my hands. The rope was tight and it was starting to dig into my wrists. On the bright side, I didn't see any sign of Paris.

I sighed in exasperation and looked down at my feet. Another rope was wrapped around my knees a few times to keep me standing. The bitch could've at least let me sit. I heard movement somewhere in the museum. I froze for a second, straining my ears. I pulled hard against the ropes on my wrists, panic slowly seeping in. As much as I hated to admit it, Donegal was probably right. I was definitely in way over my head. At least I wasn't dead yet, which was a point in my favor. If I could just get out of these fucking ropes I'd be golden. Someone whistled. I perked up and looked around hopefully. Still no sign of Paris, but even I knew it was a bad idea to start yelling. I heard a door open and a few seconds later a beam of light bounced into the room. I twisted around, trying to look around the side of the tree. Sam lowered his flashlight, looking around in the dim lighting. He glanced back at Dean as he followed him in. I smiled and sighed with relief. They were about to pass me by.

"Sam!" I hissed quietly.

He looked back at me and hurried over.

"Are you all right?" he asked, tugging at the ropes binding me.

"I've had worse. She wasn't here when I woke up. She could be anywhere."

As if on cue, the axe Dean was carrying flew out of his hands, burying itself in another fake tree. There she was, standing behind him. She flashed him a smile when he turned to face her, punching him squarely in his jaw. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. She caught him twice more in quick succession before he stumbled back and hit the ground, tripping over his own two feet. She gave a light sigh and flipped her hair like it was nothing. Sam left my side to swing at her. She caught his arm and threw him clear across the room. He smashed into the porch with a grunt and crumpled to the ground. I bit my tongue to take the focus of the burn in my wrists as I tried to work them out of the ropes.

She looked back down at Dean, who was trying to sit up. She grinned again.

"Awesome," she trilled.

Her teal heeled shoe connected hard with his face and his body stilled. I flinched and looked back at my hands. This was a lot harder than they made it look on TV. She grabbed one of Dean's legs and smirked up at me as she dragged him across the room to one of the other trees.

"I thought you might have someone looking for you," she said with an excited giggle. "Really, this is just so much more than I could have hoped for."

I watched as she started wrapping ropes around him in much the same fashion as she had me. Good to see we were off to such a great start. It was a little disconcerting to see her dragging them around like ragdolls. I growled quietly, straining to see if I could reach into my back pocket. Her heels clicked as she slowly crossed to a stump by the porch. She picked up a long knife and spun back toward me, pasting on another dazzling smile. I swallowed hard, doing my best to mask my fear. The knife in her hands glinted in the light as she twirled it.

"I haven't had someone willingly seek me out in ages," she said with delight, taking her time as she walked toward me.

I shook my head. "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, don't be coy with me. I knew you were following me the second you turned that corner." She stopped to stand in front of me, running the blade lightly across my cheek. "And here I was about to snatch some ignorant little girl." Her smile widened. "I think you'll be much more fun."

She pressed harder, leaving a long cut down the left side of my jaw. I grit my teeth and yelled, struggling against my bindings. She giggled and sighed, licking my blood off the end of the knife as she turned to strut back to sit beside the stump. I exhaled slowly and glared at her. I could feel the tickle of blood running down the side of my neck. I huffed, blowing my bangs out of my face. They really made a habit out of getting themselves into sticky situations like this, didn't they? She picked up another blade and dragged her nails down it. The metallic drag made me cringe. I could see the sparks flying from here. I sighed and thumped my head lightly against the tree trunk a couple of times.

"Come on," I whispered to myself, looking over at Sam and Dean. "Come on!"

I returned to trying to reach into my back pocket. My wrists were rubbing raw, but I did my best to force past the pain. Dean gasped and jolted awake, looking around in a daze. He spotted "Paris" sharpening her claws. The two stared each other down for a few long seconds. Sam started coming to, shaking his head and blinking hard. He groaned and froze, apparently feeling the ropes holding him down. Much more alert, he quickly looked over at his brother. Dean looked over at me and shut his mouth in a tight line. I could tell by his expression that I was going to get an earful from him later.

"Oh," Paris said slowly. "I'm so glad you're all awake for this.  _This_  is gonna be huge."

The brothers glanced at each other with worry before back to her.

"Super," Dean said sarcastically. "I wouldn't wanna miss it."

I could see him wriggling his hands. Hopefully he'd have more luck than I was. She stopped her sharpening to smile over at him.

"I mean, I've been stuffing myself with fast food lately. So it's nice to do the ritual right, prepare a nice, slow meal for a change."

"Just like the good old days, huh?" Sam asked, watching as she resumed her nail sharpening.

As she paused to look over at him, I swore for just a second I saw her face shift into something different – gnashing, sharp teeth in particular – before it was normal again. My eyes widened and I glanced over at Dean. Our eyes met and he nodded to my hands. I nodded and tried to convey that I was giving it my all without ripping my own hands off.

"You have no idea," she continued. "People  _adored_  me. They used to throw themselves at me, with smiles on their faces." She smiled in my direction and gave a little giggle, that scraping of her nails grating across my nerves. "Kinda like your little friend over there. Couldn't wait to take the place of that little snot, could you?"

"I guess these days, nobody gives a flying crap about some backwoods-forest god, huh?" Dean asked snidely, drawing her attention.

She glared up at him for a moment. He glanced at Sam. I wished someone would get out of these damn ropes already. It felt like I was peeling my skin off trying to get out of mine. Granted I'd managed to wiggle my hands out just a smidge, but it wasn't nearly enough to get them loose.

"No, not since they cut down my forest to build a yugo plant," she replied in a bitter tone.

Dean grinned. "March of progress, sister."

I laughed to myself. He really liked to poke the bear, didn't he?

"For years now, I've been wandering. Hungry. Scared. Scrounging for scraps.  _So_  not sexy. But then… the best thing ever happened: someone tripped the apocalypse. And I thought, what the hell? I'm tired of watching what I eat. I wanna pig out."

I didn't miss the look Sam threw in Dean's direction or the way Dean was trying to gauge my reaction to what she had said. Instead, I chose to ignore them, staring at the ground in front of me while I concentrated on wriggling my hands. I flinched, the ropes creaking softly as I strained against them.

"So I found this little place," she continued. "It's awesome. Adoring fans stroll right in the door."

"Yeah, but they're not your fans," Sam pointed out.

She laughed. "So? They worship Lincoln, Ghandi, Hilton… Whatever. I'll take what I can get."

Dean shook his head and gave a light chuckle. "You know, I gotta tell you, you are not the first god we've met, but you  _are_  the nuttiest."

"No. You." She pointed at them. "You people. You're the crazy ones." He looked at her like she was an idiot, but she just kept going. "You used to worship gods. But this?" She gestured to herself with a scoff. "This is what passes for idolatry? Celebrities? What have they got besides small dogs and spray tans?"

I smiled and shook my head, finally glancing up. It was good to see from the looks on their faces that Sam and Dean could see the irony in it as well.

"You people used to have old-time religion. Now you have  _US Weekly_."

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. I'm more of a  _Penthouse Forum_  man myself."

He winked, making a clicking noise with his tongue. I rolled my eyes. At least he was keeping her occupied. I could feel the ropes slowly but surely sliding down my hands. Just a few more minutes and I'd have at least one hand free. She gave him a look that said she clearly didn't appreciate his sarcasm and got to her feet.

"Maybe," she said slowly, crossing to stand in front of him, "but… there's still a lot of yummy meat on those bones, boy."

Okay, so maybe I didn't have a couple of minutes. I pulled as hard as I could, hissing quietly at the burn.

Dean smirked at her and replied, "Well, I hate to break it to you sister, but, uh… you can't eat me. See, I'm not a Paris Hilton BFF. I've never even seen House of Wax."

"No," she said thoughtfully, "but I can totally read your mind, Dean. I know who your hero is. Your daddy. Am I right?"

I glanced up at that. His facial expression did a complete 180. He sneered down at her. She just chuckled and walked away.

"And this belonged to him, didn't it?" she added, walking over to the axe embedded in a tree near the house. She turned to look back at him, giving him an exaggerated pout. "Poor little Dean. All you ever wanted was to be loved by your idol. One distant father figure, coming right up!"

She reached up for the axe. I hadn't really processed what was happening when I saw Dean tackle her to the ground. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and looked up at the axe.  _Cut off her head_  I told myself.  _You've gotta cut off that bitch's head!_  I grit my teeth and pulled with all my weight. She punched Dean in the face, knocking him over backward, and climbed on top of him. I growled and squeezed my eyes shut, fighting past the angry scratching at my wrists. My left hand popped free. I breathed out heavily, relief washing over me. I felt like screaming. My arms were on fire. However, with one hand free it was a breeze to wiggle the other one loose. I whipped out my pocketknife and quickly cut through the ropes around my legs. She was too busy punching Dean to notice that I was free, it would seem. I slipped into the foliage, ignoring the fact that Sam was trying to tell me to head for the door. I grabbed the handle and tugged, turning it over once in my hands. This was the moment of truth. Dean landed a punch of his own. She toppled over, splayed out on the ground.

"Move!" I shouted.

He obediently rolled out of the way and I swung the axe down as hard as I could across her neck. Blood splattered across my face and torso. I gasped, standing there for a moment panting before I realized her head wasn't quite off yet. I closed my eyes and wiped my forearms across my face, raising the axe over my head again. I grunted and chopped down three more times until I saw her head roll away. I looked around in a daze. I'd forgotten for a moment where I was. Dean was on the ground still, looking up at me with wide eyes. Surprise and shock was evident all over his face. I closed my eyes and doubled over, breathing heavily. I felt like I was going to be sick. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was just Sam. Apparently he'd finally gotten himself free. He offered me a weak smile and held out his hand.

"I can take it," he said calmly, gesturing to the axe.

I nodded, more than happy to get rid of it. I felt light headed. I took a deep breath and shook it off; just one more thing to bury in the back of my mind and deal with later. Sam looked down at Dean and started to chuckle. Dean glared and pointed a finger at him.

"Not a word."

Sam shook his head. "Dude… You just got wailed on by Paris Hilton."

"Shut up."

I looked over at Sam and burst out laughing. Maybe it was the shock of having beheaded my first monster or maybe it was how amusing I actually found the idea – I wasn't sure. Either way, I held my ribs and clung to Sam's arm, the two of us having a good laugh as Dean lay back to catch his breath. I finally calmed down and sighed, dragging my hands down my face. I felt the slickness and looked down at the red on my hands. I'd forgotten for half a second that I was coated with blood. I grimaced.

"Ugh… Gross…"

I looked down at the blank painted up face of Leshii, tilting my head to the side. I frowned.

"Do think the body will be stuck looking like this forever?" I asked.

They both stared at me for several long seconds. I shrugged my shoulders.

"What? Don't you think it would raise a little suspicion if they find a body of Paris Hilton that isn't actually Paris Hilton?"

Sam laughed again and nodded. "I guess you're right. Hadn't really thought about it."

"Yeah, well it's not our job to think about it," Dean said with a grunt as he sat up.

I rolled my eyes and stuck my hand out to him. "Don't be such a spoil sport. Jeeze, you need to give your curiosity a stretch every once in a while…"

He gave me a blank look for a moment before taking my hand and allowing me to help him to his feet. I made a face at the burn in my arm. Once he was upright, I took a few minutes to look over my wrists and hands. They were rubbed raw and scratched to hell, bleeding lightly in a couple of spots.

"Well, if we're done here I'd love nothing more than a nice hot shower," I said brightly.

Sam nodded, looking around. "Yeah… Let's get the hell outta here…"

I followed them out, trying to avoid looking at any of the wax figurines. So help me God, I would never go to another wax museum as long as I lived. The cool night air hit me like a wave of water. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, sighing with content. Walking into an empty parking lot had never felt so good.

"How's your jaw?" Dean asked, unlocking the Impala.

I laughed, reaching up to hover over the cut there.

"Okay, I guess," I replied. "I could ask you the same question."

He glowered at me. I grinned at him and climbed into the back seat. My body was really starting to feel the aches the excitement had tuned out. The bump on my head was pulsating in time with my heartbeat and it felt like someone was continuously scratching their nails down the side of my face. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it, but the movement just made my stomach turn. I exhaled slowly and swallowed hard.

"What do you guys do when you have a concussion?" I asked.

"Um… I don't know, ice?" Sam replied with uncertainty. "You know, wake each other up every fifteen minutes, that kind of thing. You feel okay?"

"Not really. She bounced my head off a brick wall this morning. I was out for like half the day. I feel a little dizzy and sick to my stomach. I don't know if Donegal's awake or not, but I figured someone needed to be faced with the task, so…"

I opened my eyes and took another deep breath. Dean was watching me in the rearview mirror. I forced a reassuring smile. He sighed and returned his gaze to the road.

"Yeah, okay," he agreed. "We've got a first aid kit in the trunk to take care of that cut on your face, too."


	9. Chapter 9

I nodded and tried to relax without getting blood everywhere. As soon as we pulled up to the hotel, I shuffled to my room. As I had expected, Donegal was passed out on her bed snoring. I blinked hard to regain my focus and grabbed my pajamas and some clean underthings. I kicked off my socks and shoes and headed next door. Dean opened the door and frowned, giving me a curious look.

"I thought you were gonna shower?" he asked, closing the door and turning to watch me cross the room.

I waved him off, rubbing my eyes with my other hand.

"Donegal's asleep," I grumbled. "I don't wanna wake her up. I'm just gonna use your shower quick."

He grumbled his disapproval, but I shut and locked the door behind me anyway. The hot water felt like lemon juice on my wrists and face. It was difficult to let the rest of my body relax. Still, it was refreshing to scrub my hair and skin clean again. I dried off and wiggled into a pair of undies, boxer shorts, and a t-shirt. God, it felt good to have my bra off. I wrapped my head in a towel and shut the light off with a yawn. I abandoned my dirty clothes in a heap on the floor by the front door and flopped down on the nearest bed.

"Nope," Dean said quickly, walking over to slap my leg. "Sit up. Let me take a look at your head."

I groaned dramatically and rolled over. I glared at him sleepily and sat up, pulling the towel off my messy, wet hair. He pushed my bangs back out of my face and shined a small light in my eyes. I waited patiently, growing ever more tired by the minute. He felt the bump on the left side of my forehead, pulling back when I flinched. Sam brought him over an ice pack wrapped in a hand towel and the first aid kit. He looked at me, concern written all over his face. I managed to force a smile.

"That's quite a goose egg you've got there," he said, pointing to my forehead.

I frowned and reached up to touch it. Dean swatted my hand away and I scowled. He was digging through the kit, a concentrated look in his eyes.

"Don't we have any of that uh… what is it… that antibacterial crap?" he asked, looking around.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Neosporin? Yeah, we should. Give me a sec."

I tried to hide my amusement as I watched the two of them tearing the room apart, but I had a feeling I was doing a terrible job at it. I propped myself up on pillows against the headboard and grabbed the icepack Sam had left on the bed. I was just about to doze off when I felt another light slap on my calf. I sighed heavily and sat up again.

"Hold still," Dean said sternly. "This might sting."

He tilted my head to the right and held a towel under my chin. I frowned, watching the figures on some game show moving around on the TV. He poured some kind of liquid across my face, but it felt like he set me on fire. I hissed and yelled through clenched teeth, but reluctantly didn't pull my head away. I bit my tongue and ground my feet into the carpet until he was finished. When the burn sensation eased, I glared at him out of the corners of my eyes.

"What the hell was that? Vodka?" I snapped sarcastically.

He smiled and started dabbing Neosporin onto my jaw. "Whiskey, actually."

I scoffed. "Of course."

I tried to avoid looking directly at him, but it was kind of tempting when his face was right next to mine. I casually let my eyes pass over his face. Even in this dim lighting, I could see how vibrantly green his eyes were. I looked away quickly before I could give myself a chance to start blushing, focusing instead on the TV again. A few minutes and two butterfly bandages later I was allowed to lie down. It certainly helped my stomach stop doing flips. I closed my eyes and breathed as deeply as possible. The next couple of hours went about as well as I expected them to. I far from enjoyed being woken up every fifteen minutes, but it was a necessary evil, I figured. I was grateful all the same when I was finally allowed to get a decent amount of sleep.

* * *

Sam settled himself against the headboard on the free bed, kicking his shoes off to relax a bit. Connemara should be able to get some real sleep soon. She seemed to be reacting to everything just find. Dean was sitting at the table cleaning the blood off their father's axe. He looked across the room at Connemara, watching her for a long while before his gaze returned to what he was doing. Sam could see the curiosity burning in his brother's eyes. He sighed and stood to join him at the table. He looked over at her for a few seconds, making sure she was asleep.

"You see the way she… manhandled… that axe?" he asked, trying to make light of it.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "She got lucky, Sam, and you know it."

He smiled tensely and nodded, looking down at the carpet. He was probably right. If it had been demons they were dealing with, this might not have had such a happy ending. Still, he didn't think Dean was giving her the credit she deserved for it. She took a god's head off – something she shouldn't have needed to do in the first place. Concussion aside, she'd handled it pretty well. He glanced back up at Dean, who looked down at his watch.

"It's been an hour," he said. "Go wake her up. This should be the last time."

Sam stretched and yawned. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take a shower."

Dean scowled at him and set the axe down on the table. Sam smiled innocently and headed for the bathroom. Dean sauntered over to the bed she was sleeping on and sat down beside her. He was having a difficult time admitting it to himself that maybe she wasn't as poorly equipped as he had imagined. Still, the idea of two more people to worry about on missions didn't exactly give him the warm fuzzies. Worrying about their safety as they sat alone in a hotel room all day was bad enough. Sam and him had too much on their plates as it was. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, pushing those thoughts away. It wouldn't do any good to think about it now. He shook her gently until she stirred.

"Wakey wakey," he said brightly, reaching onto the nightstand for the flashlight.

She groaned, swatting at him blindly. He laughed and shined the light in her face. She grumbled louder and held her hand up to block the light. She glared at him weakly and sat up, pouting. She was practically falling back asleep already. She let him shine the light in her eyes for a few seconds to make sure her pupils were still reacting. Satisfied, he set the flashlight down again.

"Do you know what day it is?" he asked, running his fingers over the bump on her head. The ice had brought the swelling down considerably.

She yawned and squeaked as she stretched.

"I don't know," she mumbled in a drowsy voice. "Not sure if we switched over on the same day or not. It should be… Thursday?"

"Good. And do you know where you are?"

She sighed and closed her eyes, lying back down slowly as though he wouldn't notice.

"We're in Canton, Ohio." She pulled the covers back up to her chin. "Dean, can I go back to sleep now?"

He nodded. "Yeah, get some rest. You should be fine."

"Mmkay…"

She was asleep again in a matter of minutes. Dean shook his head and returned to cleaning the axe he had abandoned.

* * *

I woke up to incessant, loud banging on the room door. I sat up straight, looking around in alarm. Dean and Sam were on the second bed wearing similarly offended expressions.

"I got it," Sam yawned, dragging himself out of bed to see who it was.

Dean grunted his acknowledgement and flopped back down on his pillow. Sam checked the peephole and quickly opened the door. I scratched my head and squeaked quietly, stretching my body out.

"Where is she?"

I froze and my eyes snapped open. Donegal stormed into the room with a furious look on her face. I scrambled out of bed and dove across Dean to make a mad dash for the bathroom. She tackled me in the kitchen, sitting on the middle of my back.

"DON'T YOU  _EVER_  DO ANYTHING THAT–THAT STUPID EVER AGAIN!" she shouted, pinning my arms down.

"Get off!" I yelled back. "I have a concussion! You're gonna make my brain bleed out into my skull!"

"You go into a situation like that alone again and I will end you – LITERALLY, I WILL END YOUR LIFE! Are you fucking insane?!"

I grit my teeth and pulled my arms free, pushing myself up. She shrieked in surprise and I grabbed a hold of her before she could let go, toppling over backward to land on top of her. She let out a loud 'oof' at the impact and put me in a headlock. I heard Dean in the background telling us to break it up, but the both of us chose to ignore him. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her up, biting down on her forearm. She growled and poked me hard on the bump on my head. I swore loudly and immediately released her, rolling away holding my face. I hissed and doubled over, trying to force away the pain.

"Yeah, you feel that?" she snapped, staggering to her feet. "I want you to imagine that feeling in your fucking soul the next time you decide to be a moron. Do you have ANY idea how freaked out I was?! For the first time in my life – ever - I had to try to come to terms with the idea that you might be dead by the time they got there. Not only that, but you would have left me here ALONE! Do you understand that? Just-Just mull that thought over for a second, why don't you?"

I glared up at her, panting. I couldn't think of anything to say back. I had to admit to myself that I hadn't really thought about how it would make her feel. That was the slap in the face I really needed to realize that we had no idea if we could even get a hold of our family or friends. More than that… did they even exist here? I sat back on my heels, looking down at the pattern in the carpet. I nodded slowly and pushed myself to my feet.

"I'm sorry," I muttered reluctantly, rubbing my forehead.

"God damn right you're sorry!" she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "You do that again and I'm blacking your eye."

"Maybe next time I won't have a bump on my head for you to use against me…"

We looked at each other for several long minutes before she cracked a smile and laughed quietly. She shook her head and looked back up at me. She jabbed a finger accusingly in my direction.

"You're a fuckin' asshole, you know that?"

I laughed. "Bitch."

"Jerk."

I pushed her lightly and looked up. I'd forgotten for a moment that Sam and Dean were there. Sam was wearing an amused expression, sharing a look with his brother. Dean looked back at us and smiled.

"Well, now that you've gotten that out your systems…"

Donegal rubbed the back of her neck anxiously, suddenly back to the clumsy, socially awkward girl I knew.

"Sorry about that," she said lamely.

Dean made an 'oh please' face and scoffed. "You kiddin' me? Do you have any idea how many times we've come to blows? Best to get it out in the open when you can. You're gonna be stuck in a car together for a long while."

She nodded, obviously still embarrassed. I ushered her toward the door.

"As long as we're all up, I guess we'll go pack," I said in a hurry. "Thanks for watching out for me last night guys."

"You bet," Sam replied with a smile, shutting the door behind me.

Once we were alone back in our room, she sat down on her bed and looked up at me expectantly. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged.

"What?" I asked, crossing the room to start picking up my dirty clothes.

"You know what," she replied, getting up to lean on the bathroom doorway. She smiled slowly. "How was it?"

I looked up at her in surprise. After her tirade, I didn't expect her to want to talk about it. I huffed out a laugh.

"It was… strangely exhilarating. Oh, don't get me wrong I was kind of terrified, but… God, that was so much better than sitting here all day! And you know what…? I did it."

She frowned and shook her head. "What do you mean? Did what?"

I stuffed my things in my laundry bag and leaned toward her with an excited smile.

"I chopped that bitch's head off. I think it might have scarred me for life, but that shit felt… good. Is that creepy to say? Maybe a little?"

She looked at me with wide eyes and laughed, going about gathering her own things.

"You're joking, right?" she asked quizzically.

"What?" I asked. "You don't think I could do it?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but… you're kind of a punk."

"What?! Are you serious!? If anyone is a punk, you're a punk! Excuse me miss, but  _I_  shot a werewolf, thank you!"

She scoffed and turned her back on me.

"I'm serious," I said, stomping my foot. "I really did. You should have seen me. I was a fucking BADASS. There was blood everywhere. I'm surprised I didn't hurl, actually. You know how I am with blood…"

She paused to glance back at me. "You really killed her? Well, it… Him?"

"Hell yeah I did. Not to, you know, relish taking life, but it was killing people to be fair. And I was held hostage. And she was bringing the smack down on Dean, so really it was self defense."

Donegal laughed and zipped her bag shut.

"Dean got his ass kicked by Paris Hilton," she mused. "I would've loved to see that…"

"Oh, trust me. Sam will never let him live it down."

I pulled on a pair of old, light wash flares, an charcoal gray v-neck tee, and my converse. I looked for my car keys for ten whole minutes before I remembered the car wasn't even here. I groaned and put my bag back down.

"I'll be back," I said in exasperation. "I have to go get the car…"

She laughed again and flopped down on her bed. "That's your punishment, bro. I'll be here when you're done."

I put on my sunglasses and yawned, snagging my olive green Carhartt jacket on my way out the door. The air was chilly this morning. I knocked on their door and waited patiently for someone to answer. I offered Dean a big smile, hoping he was in a good mood today.

"Hey," I started off. "Would you, uh… mind giving me a lift? My baby is still parked down by the library."

He chuckled and reached inside to grab his keys.

"I'll be right back Sammy!" he hollered. "Go get us checked out!"

"Yup," I heard him reply.

I followed Dean to the Impala. I was glad to see he was in better spirits, but couldn't help wondering how long it would last. We rode in silence for a few minutes. I sat staring out the window, playing with the zipper on my jacket. I finally gathered up the nerve to look over at him. He was staring straight ahead, squinting in the sunlight. When he noticed me looking he glanced over, eyebrow raised curiously.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, looking at his hands rather than his face.

They weren't any less distracting than the rest of him. For half a second, it took every fiber of my being not to just reach out and touch them. Damn he had some nice looking hands. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and settled on looking at my own hands in my lap. They were much less interesting.

"For going off on my own like that," I continued. "I know it wasn't clever and I should have just gone back to the hotel."

He was quiet for a moment. I looked over at him to find him looking right back at me. Why did he always have to look so damn serious? I couldn't tell if he was mad or not. He sighed and shook his head, pulling away once the light turned green.

"You did all right, I guess, considering," he said reluctantly. I smiled, but the look he gave me cut it short. "You got lucky. I think we can all admit that. The things we go up against… they aren't always gonna save you for a midnight snack. Most of them will kill you on sight, especially if they know you're a hunter." He looked me in the eye. "Especially if they know you're working with us."

I swallowed hard. I already knew that, of course, but it was somehow a little different hearing it from one of them directly. I looked out the windshield, watching the other cars go by. I played with my fingernails to help ease my nerves.

"I figured as much," I replied calmly, offering him a small smile. "So… are we all just gonna pretend that I didn't hear that bit about the apocalypse?"

He looked over at me sharply, surprised. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, floundering for something to say. I laughed and shook my head. It wasn't often that Dean didn't have a smartass comment to make. It was kind of amusing when he was stunned into silence.

"Don't worry about it," I continued more seriously. "We already know. We've known the whole time."

He looked like he didn't understand. I smiled again.

"We've got… experience… remember?"

He narrowed his eyes a little. "Yeah. You never did elaborate much on that. How, exactly, did you already know about the apocalypse?"

I blanched. I hadn't really expected him to question it. I just stared at him for a few long seconds like a deer caught in headlights before I came to my senses. I had to lie. I had to say something.

"Um…" I scrunched up my face. "I… don't think I should tell you that."

He pulled over across the street from my car, turning in his seat to look at me. His brow was furrowed, a serious look on his face. I didn't want to be the reason for that look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked incredulously.

_Shit. Great choice of words. Think, think, think!_

I laughed nervously and shook my head. "It's… complicated."

"Well I think you better start explaining."


	10. Chapter 10

"Well I think you better start explaining."

I wished that Sam were here now to keep him from being so zealous with his tone. Dean was one of the last people in existence I ever wanted to be mad at me. Right now, the look his eyes were boring into me made me want to disappear into the car seat. I was starting to panic. I couldn't tell him the truth. They weren't ready for that yet. It would ruin everything. My mind was running through a thousand different things I could tell him and coming up with nothing that didn't sound insane.

"I read about it," I finally said

In this world, it was actually quite possible, so it wasn't quite a lie. It also didn't really give anything away. He leaned back and smirked, shaking his head.

"You read  _Supernatural_?" he asked with a laugh. "And you think that's real?"

I looked up at him calmly, settling into my lie.

"I know it is," I replied.

He stared me down for several long seconds, that smile of his slowly fading. He looked out the window for a few seconds, acting disinterested.

"What makes you so sure?" he asked.

I laughed, drawing his attention back to me.

"You're joking, right?" I countered. "After some of the things I've seen, nothing seems like that far of a stretch anymore." He still looked skeptical. I sighed. "For what it's worth… we'll do everything we can to help you. Well… everything you'll  _let_  us do to help."

He scoffed. "Yeah, you're doin' a bang-up job so far. You've been with us… what, three days? And you already got yourself kidnapped and concussed. We saved your ass once. How many more times are we gonna have to?"

I raised an eyebrow, looking offended. "If it wasn't me, it was gonna be some innocent teenage girl who was even less prepared than I was. And excuse you, but if I remember correctly it was me who saved  _your_  ass. You weren't doing such an awesome job handling that bitch yourself, were you?"

We glared at each other for a few seconds before I just started laughing. The idea of sitting here arguing with Dean freakin' Winchester was so outrageous. He frowned and looked at me like he thought the concussion might have fried my brain. The expression was so familiar to me that it just made me laugh harder. After a couple of minutes, I managed to calm down. I wiped my eyes, still chuckling.

"Oh, God," I choked out. "Sorry, I'm sorry." I took a deep breath to regain my composure. "Look, I get that you don't know us from any other stranger on the street. Trust takes time to build and we're willing to earn it."

I gave him a smile and got out before he could question me any further. I breathed out slowly, blowing my bangs out of my face. I jogged across the street and got in my car, glad to be free of his quizzical gaze. I followed him back to the hotel, laughing to myself a majority of the way. Donegal was packed and ready by then, thankfully. I helped her load the car and went to drop off the room key. Sam and Dean were standing at the back of the Impala having what looked like an important conversation. Donegal was leaning on my car with her arms crossed, trying to make it seem like she wasn't watching. I adjusted my sunglasses and handed her the car keys.

"You drive today," I said with a yawn. "Mush brain is gonna catch some more sleep, maybe find a bag of frozen peas to curl up under. Whatever… I just don't want to drive."

She nodded, walking around to the driver's side door. She watched them a moment longer before looking over at me.

"Do you know where we're going now?" she asked.

I made a face and shrugged. "Not really, no. I mean really we're just following them wherever they go anyway, so why not let today's trip be a surprise?"

She scoffed and shook her head. I watched Sam head to the driver's side to take the wheel. I raised my eyebrows to voice my shock and slid into the passenger seat.

"I think this is where they agree to take a step back from the apocalypse chasing," Donegal said as she started the car. "You know, to just deal with whatever falls into their lap? I'm pretty sure most of it ends up being related to the apocalypse in one way or another anyway, but the sentiment is nice."

I nodded and stretched carefully. My wrists were still sore and the skin there was an angry shade of red. I watched out the window as the shops that had become familiar the last couple of days passed us by and disappeared in the side mirror.

"Bye, Canton," I muttered under my breath.

Donegal glanced in the rearview mirror.

"Goodbye first mission," she corrected.

I laughed lightly. "Well,  _my_  first mission. I don't know that you can really count it as a mission. You missed out on all the action."

"Most of the action. Whatever… I'm still counting it."

I shook my head and leaned my seat back, popping in my ear buds. I curled up with Donegal's horseshoe travel pillow and shut my eyes.

"I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up when we stop for lunch if I'm still asleep."

* * *

Donegal turned the radio up a little. Connemara had been asleep for last couple of hours; her head drooped limply to the right. It was a good thing she had that neck-roll pillow or she'd have one hell of crick when she woke up. Donegal sighed and returned her gaze to the highway. She didn't like the idea of not asking where they were going. Why leave room for any more surprises than were already necessary? It was bad enough not knowing how any given mission was going to end. How many seasons were there anyway? Even that didn't necessarily guarantee that everyone made it through in one piece, she supposed. If they could kill Dean, anyone was fair game; and she knew there wouldn't be a sexy angel there to save her ass from the pit.

Which led to another question: why exactly were they there? The question had been burning in the back of her mind since they'd abandoned Linda and Rick's house back in Golden. Was it the angels… or the demons? She wasn't sure which she preferred at this point. Angels here weren't exactly as they were typically portrayed. As Dean was so fond of pointing out, they were more like "dicks with wings". At least the demons made known what it was they wanted you for. Angels would be just as likely to tell you a lie, if not more so, and then they wouldn't even tell you what the hell they wanted! At least with a demon she might have a better chance of knowing what to avoid…

She sighed and rubbed her temples, glancing over at her sister again. There was really no getting out of this… was there? This world, this lifestyle? No matter what they did, it would always suck them back in. That's how it always was. Once you started, you could never stop – not really. What that meant for them she didn't know. She tried to feel better about the situation by reassuring herself that someone would come for them whether they had gone with Sam and Dean or stayed alone and unprotected. The former was the better option and they all knew that. That was the only reason she and her sister were here now.

She growled in frustration. Her mind was just running in circles; a dog chasing its own tail. There were so many answers she needed. She felt like Cas might be able to help, but had no idea how to even get a hold of him. Did she have to pray to get his attention? The thought made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. She hadn't said an honest prayer since she was a child. The concept had become foreign. He had to know something, though. Out of anyone on their side she could think of, Cas would be the one to look to. Whether or not he would divulge that information to her she couldn't guarantee, but he was her best shot. She cleared her throat, shifting in her seat again. She made a mental note to run the idea past Connemara before giving it a go. Maybe the brainpower of the both of them would be enough to bring him running – or at least she hoped so.

The weight of the cell phone in her pocket was suddenly evident. Her left hand twitched, urging her to reach for it. Donegal glanced down at the speedometer to temporarily distract herself. It didn't have much of an effect. She was growing increasingly aware of its presence; even more so that it hadn't rang once since their arrival in this world. Up until this point she had been doing a pretty good job of ignoring that fact. She'd managed to keep hidden that she hadn't been able to login to her email account – or any of her personal blogs or social websites for that matter. Connemara had been so wrapped up in working with Sam and Dean the last couple of days that she apparently hadn't put much thought into it.

Donegal, on the other hand, had been dwelling on it heavily. Her sister hadn't caught on yet, thankfully. She wasn't quite sure how to break it to her, though after their last little tizzy the idea was probably beginning to dawn on her. She'd be sure to bring it up when they stopped for the night. There was no need to make these long car rides any tenser than they already were. She exhaled slowly and ran a hand down the side of her face. She felt the exhaustion crackling through her body. Really she just wanted to lie down and sleep it all off; wake up tomorrow home in her bed and not have to worry about having an angel forced down her throat or a demon dragging her down to hell. These were things no one should ever have to worry about in real life! If they ever made it back home she would never wish for any of her fandoms to be real again. She was perfectly fine with them being in a fictional world all their own…

* * *

I woke with a start, banging my head on the passenger window. I hissed and rubbed my forehead. At least it wasn't the same side with the goose egg on it already. I grumbled and looked over at Donegal. Her eyes were on the road, but she was wearing an amused expression nonetheless. I glared at her and scrunched back down in my seat. I squinted at the clock on the dashboard. It was almost noon already. I blinked hard a couple of times and adjusted my sunglasses to the bright sunlight pouring in.

I couldn't quite remember the nightmare that I'd been having, but even now I could feel the terror it had left in its wake. My hands were clammy and shaking. I dabbed the cold sweat off my forehead with my sleeve and sighed, closing my eyes again. I cautiously probed my mind. I didn't come up with much of anything that made sense. What I could see most vividly (and perhaps that was ironic) was a howling, unending darkness. It was like being in a cave with the lights shut off, only darker. It was a cold, bottomless void swallowing me into nothing – and in it, someone was calling my name. It was faint, barely a whisper on the breeze, but I could hear it. It echoed on and on, taunting me. I felt like screaming, pulling out my hair as it carved each letter into the surface of my skull.

"Connemara!"

I jumped at the hand shaking me. I hadn't realized we had stopped. My heart was racing and I was breathing heavily. The muscles in my chest were tense with panic. I took a deep breath and relaxed for a moment. Donegal was watching me, a concerned expression etched into her features. She arched her eyebrow, expecting some kind of explanation. I didn't really want to give her one.

"What the fuck was that?" she asked, since I wasn't going to initiate the conversation.

"Nothing," I replied nonchalantly. "I was just having a bad dream. I'm fine."

She deadpanned and shut the car off forcefully. "Whatever. Here nothing is ever just "nothing". Everyone knows that. Don't go bonkers on me, okay? You can't leave me here with… them…"

She gestured out the windshield to Sam and Dean. I smiled and shook my head, looking back at her.

"Really, it was just a dream," I assured her. "Everything is fine."

She stared at me a moment longer before nodding and pulling the keys out of the ignition.

"Come on then," she said. "Let's gas up and grab something to eat. I didn't have any breakfast, so I'm kind of starving."

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled loudly. I'd been in such a rush this morning that I hadn't stopped in at the hotel for my usual continental breakfast. I grabbed a few slices of pizza, some chips, energy drinks, and bottled water before heading to the register. I thought twice about it, snatching up a few candy bars. I kind of wanted a little bit of everything – all the foods I turned to for comfort (or at least the ones a gas station could provide). Sam and Dean were ahead of me in line. Dean's eyes widened a little and he frowned when he saw my arms laden with snacks.

"What?" I snapped, chewing a bite of pizza I couldn't wait for. "I was hungry… It's not all mine! Stop looking at me like that!"

Sam laughed and Dean just shook his head, following him out to the car. I paid the cashier, grumbling to myself as I made my way back out to the car. Donegal was just returning the gas cap to its place as I slid into the passenger seat.

"Christ," she muttered. "Did you buy the entire store?"

"I AM ALLOWED TO BE HUNGRY, OKAY?!" I shouted. "Oh my God! Can you all stop looking at me like I just swallowed a fucking farm?!"

She threw her head back laughing, wresting a slice of pizza from my hands. I bitterly chewed on a Zero instead, glaring out the windshield.

"Where are we going anyway?" I grumbled. "Fuck, I just wanna curl up in a ball and go back to sleep. I feel like shit."

Chuckling still, she followed Sam as he pulled out of the parking lot. "I didn't ask. Thought we were in for a bit surprise, remember?"

I glared at her out of the corner of my eye at the smug tone in her voice. She smiled innocently. I fought the urge to push her face into the window. A sliver of fear remaining at the back of my mind wouldn't allow me to go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. Each time, the same panic would seep in, clamming up my hands and making my heart race like a running jackrabbit. I finally gave up and settled on listening to Donegal's ipod with her and looking at the atlas to figure out where we were.


	11. Chapter 11

I had taken over driving by midday to give Donegal a chance to catch up on her sleep. We were making our first attempt at powering through an entire day of driving. I wasn't sure how I felt about such things, but thus far it hadn't been too rough. I took a sip of coffee and rubbed my eyes. We stopped in Kansas City, Missouri for the night. The section of town wasn't especially familiar to me, but just being somewhere I had been before, somewhere that was close to home was a little comforting. Somehow, it was also a little bit sad. The town we grew up in was only an hour from here. If we drove there right now, would anyone recognize us or would we just be some curious strangers passing through?

I sighed and ruffled my hair, following the Impala into the mostly empty parking lot. I waited patiently for them to check us in. More importantly, I wondered where this trip would lead us and how long it would be until we had our next mission. I bit the end of my thumb, anxiously tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. There was never much of a solid time lapse on the show. I looked over at my sleeping sister. After our confrontation I was beginning to realize that I hadn't even attempted to text or call anyone. With the situation we were in, my phone was the farthest thing from my mind. I didn't get a lot of action on my phone anyway, so it wasn't especially abnormal for me to not hear from anyone for a few days at a time. Particularly since we were on vacation, as it were. Mom should have called or messaged at least one of us by now and I would think Donegal would have said something if she had received anything.

It led me to a more important conclusion. What if we really were all by ourselves here? It was entirely possible that we were completely cut off from everyone and everything in our world. I shifted in my seat, the mere thought making my skin crawl. I had my work cut out for me tonight it would seem. I nudged Donegal until she began to stir. She blinked a few times, shaking her bangs out of her face as she gazed around the dimly lit car. She stretched, emitting a pitiful squeak in the process before she settled back into her seat.

"Where are we?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

I checked my mirrors. "Kansas City. We're stopping for the night."

She perked up at that, craning her neck to look around. "Holy shit. Do you know where in the city?"

I shook my head. "I don't recognize it, but we're not far in. We're past Liberty, but still kind of on the outskirts. I don't know. The area is sketch as fuck though. We're gonna want to take in everything that we can."

I listened a moment to the sound of a freight train passing through the trees just behind us. The rhythmic thrumming and long draw of the horn brought back childhood memories. I sighed, leaning my forehead against the cool glass of my window. I was struggling to sort through the rat's nest of thoughts tearing through my mind while somehow managing to stay focused on reality. It was easier said than done. I lost track of time. I didn't see them leave the office and when one of them knocked on my window, it made my heart leap into my throat. I swore under my breath and waved, starting my car back up to follow them around the side of the building. I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I pulled into a vacant spot and threw my car in park. I was exhausted and more than ready to get some more sleep. I was having a difficult time envisioning myself doing this for the rest of my life [hopefully we would be home before then].

I grabbed my purse and all of my important luggage out of the trunk, waiting for Dean to bring me the key to our room. He sure was taking his sweet ass time with it. I yawned and blinked hard, watching the lights on the coal cars disappearing through the trees, the click-clack of the train wheels on tracks fading into the sounds of the night. I growled impatiently, looking up and down the pasty yellow walls of the hotel exterior. I squinted, turning away to pace the length of my car. It wasn't much to work with. I'd have a path worn into the pavement by the time he was ready. Finally, they made their way over to us and held up the room keys.

"All right," Dean said slowly. "We've got 1207 and 1208, should be right next to each other. You know the drill. Call if you need anything."

I looked at the pieces of plastic he was holding up with tired eyes. "Which key is for which room?"

He opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again, bringing the keys to his squinted eyes to get a better look. Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, plucking one from his brother's hand.

"1208 okay?"

I nodded. "Perfect. I prefer even numbers."

"Same time in the morning," Dean added as we parted ways. "We'll be heading out just as early! Don't think you get to relax."

I waved him off with a scoff. "Yeah, yeah princess. Just let me get some sleep now and I'll be fine."

"Did-Did she just call me  _princess_?"

I heard him muttering to his brother, who simply laughed in response. Any other time I might have taken a moment to reconsider my words. However, my thinking power was a bit better preoccupied. I simply opened the door to our room and hurried in to slough all of my baggage onto the floor and flop down onto the nearest bed. I grumbled and pushed myself back up, taking a few minutes to salt the windows and doors before repeating the process. Donegal set about changing into her pajamas and getting settled. I sighed and kicked off my shoes, digging my computer out of one of my bags. I watched her flipping through the channels out of the corner of my eye, pulling up my hotmail account. I knew I was entering my information correctly, but it still wouldn't sign me in. My account didn't exist. I gave up and spent the better part of the next hour trying to gain access to my various social media accounts. Not a one of them worked. When my mounting stress became too overwhelming, I closed my laptop and climbed under the covers. Donegal was passed out, face down on her bed. I slipped my shoes back on and went to sit in the car.

I stared at my phone for a long while, scrolling up and down through my contacts before I gathered the courage to try one. I started with the one I dreaded most – my mom. It didn't even ring. An automated message came on telling me the number I was trying to call was no longer in service. I hung up, going on to the next number. Each one was the same. I was so frustrated it took every bit of restraint I had not to throw my phone. I knew mine was still working because I was still getting calls on it. There was no possible way that every single number in my phone was out of service. This was it. We really were all alone here. I wiped angrily at the tears collecting in the corners of my eyes and threw my phone onto the passenger seat, where it bounced and hit the floor. I collapsed against the steering wheel, struggling to remember how to breathe. I sniffled, sucking in a shuddering breath as I watched my tears silently splash onto my shoes. I glared, squeezing the steering column. It wasn't fair to bring us here, let alone to cut us off completely from everyone we knew. I supposed I should be happy about it. At least that meant no one – not angels or demons – could use our loved ones against us.

Supposing and actually assessing my feelings were two completely different things. I wrapped my arms around myself, fighting to remain calm. By the time my tears had given way to shudders and sniffling, I had a migraine and my eyes were burning. I growled and wiped my face dry, stepping out of the car. I kicked the door shut forcefully, stalking toward the hotel room. No wonder Dean drank so much. I felt like going to bar myself right about now and throwing back a few shots. I didn't suppose that would sit well with my concussion. I paused outside my door, shrugging. I knocked on Sam and Dean's door instead. Sam answered, looking concerned when he saw the redness in my face.

"Hey," he said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just peachy," I grumbled, flashing him an overzealous smile. "I don't suppose you've still got any whiskey?"

He nodded. "Sure, come on in."

He stepped aside to let me pass. I headed straight for the bucket of ice, grabbed a cup, and poured myself a glass. I slouched into a chair at the table and took a sip, grimacing. I stared into the cup for a few seconds before looking up at Sam and Dean. The two shared a look, glancing back at me for some sort of explanation. I didn't have one. I smiled tensely, leaning forward in my chair.

"Let me ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me," I started off carefully. Dean nodded for me to continue. "Do you something about what's going on – with us being here, I mean – something that we don't know?"

I took another drink, watching him over the rim of my cup. He raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat, looking to Sam for help. I kicked my feet up onto the chair across from me.

"I mean, we all know that we don't belong here," I continued when no one said anything. I looked away from my glass, gauging their expressions. "Why?  _Why_  are we here?"

Dean shrugged and shook his head. "I wish I could tell you."

I swirled the contents of my glass, narrowing my eyes at one and then the other. I took another slow, deliberate drink. "What did Cas tell you?"

"He… doesn't know why you were brought here," Sam interjected, smiling grimly. "I'm sorry, I really am. I wish there was something more we could tell you."

I stared him down a moment before nodding and finishing the rest of my glass. I stood up and sighed, dragging my hands down my face.

"Please… Let us know if you find out anything. I just…" I pinched the bridge of my nose, my headache catching up to me. I shook it off, trying to smile more earnestly. "It would be great to know that it's not for nothing; just some stupid fluke in the system." My phone was a heavy reminder of the life I no longer had. "Thanks for the booze. I'll see you guys in the morning."

Sam smiled. "Take it easy."


End file.
